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expound

[ik-spound]
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verb (used with object)
  1. to set forth or state in detail: to expound theories.
  2. to explain; interpret.
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verb (used without object)
  1. to make a detailed statement (often followed by on).
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Origin of expound

1250–1300; Middle English expounen, expounden < Old French espondre < Latin expōnere to put out, set forth, explain, equivalent to ex- ex-1 + pōnere to put
Related formsex·pound·er, nounpre·ex·pound, verb (used with object)un·ex·pound·ed, adjective

Synonym study

2. See explain.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for expounding

Historical Examples

  • From a desk an ardent tabby is expounding, loud and long, on the rights of her kind.

    Concerning Cats

    Helen M. Winslow

  • He is interesting to us as the first philosopher who thought of expounding his system in verse.

  • That's the way they always goes on expounding things to you.

    The Drone

    Rutherford Mayne

  • For the moment Ike Webb had the floor, expounding his own pet theories.

  • I must, I felt, choose some other opportunity for expounding that side of the argument.

    The Fixed Period

    Anthony Trollope

British Dictionary definitions for expounding

expound

verb
  1. (when intr, foll by on or about) to explain or set forth (an argument, theory, etc) in detailto expound on one's theories; he expounded his reasoning
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Derived Formsexpounder, noun

Word Origin

C13: from Old French espondre, from Latin expōnere to set forth, from pōnere to put
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for expounding

expound

v.

c.1300, from Old French espondre "expound (on), set forth, explain," from Latin exponere "put forth, explain, expose, exhibit," from ex- "forth" (see ex-) + ponere "to put, place" (see position); with intrusive -d (cf. sound (n.1)). The usual Middle English form was expoune. Related: Expounded; expounding.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper