Etymograph

English

expressive

Expressive comes from Middle French expressif.

  1. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600expressif
  2. Englishearliest quotation 2004expressive

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600expressif
  2. Englishearliest quotation 2004expressive

Earliest quotation: 2004, Nicole Kruspe, A Grammar of Semelai: “Cross-linguistically 'expressives' are more commonly termed 'ideophones' [...] Expressives…”

Every English word from Middle French expressif

Today it means

adj Effectively conveying thought or feeling.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Middle French expressif / expressive

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