expel
UK[ɪkˈspɛl]US[ɪkˈspɛl]
v
To force someone to leave a place, organization, or school, especially as an official punishment.
v
To force something out of a container or part of the body.
Morpheme Breakdown
ex
pel
ex
out
pel
drive
Etymology
The word "expel" is a direct borrowing from Latin expellere, which is a compound of the prefix ex- ("out") and the verb pellere ("to drive, push"). This Latin root pellere itself descends from the Proto-Indo-European root pel-, meaning "to thrust, strike, drive," a concept central to motion and force. The literal meaning, "to drive out," has been retained in English, applying both to the physical act of ejecting a substance and the formal act of ousting a person from a group or institution. Thus, the modern abstract meanings of forced removal and ejection are a direct and logical continuation of the ancient action of driving something away from a source.
Analysis
Structure: ex (out) + pel (drive)
- ex: A Latin prefix meaning "out of, from, thoroughly."
- pel: A Latin root from the verb pellere, meaning "to drive, to push."
Examples
The school decided to expel the students for repeated violations of the code of conduct.
The lungs expel carbon dioxide as a waste product of respiration.
The new government moved quickly to expel the foreign spies.