expensive
Meaning
costing a lot of money
charging high prices
Structure
Usage
The hotel was comfortable but far too expensive for our budget.
She has a taste for expensive jewelry and designer clothes.
Eating out in the city center is becoming increasingly expensive.
Etymology
The word 'expensive' has a literal financial logic rooted in Latin. It derives from the Medieval Latin 'expensivus', which itself comes from 'expensus', the past participle of 'expendere' meaning "to weigh out, to pay out". The core root 'pens-' relates to weighing, as money was historically weighed. The prefix 'ex-' signifies "out", completing the image of money being weighed out or paid out. Over time, the adjective-forming suffix '-ive' was added, shifting the focus from the act of paying out to the inherent quality of something that causes a large outlay of money, leading to its modern meaning of "costing a great deal".
Analysis
- ex: Latin origin, meaning "out, out of, thoroughly". A prefix indicating outward movement or completion. - pens: Latin origin, from the root of 'pendere' meaning "to weigh, to pay". It functions as the core root relating to payment or weighing. - ive: Latin origin, via Old French '-if', an adjective-forming suffix meaning "tending to, having the nature of".