Expedir

Expedir is a verb used in Spanish and Portuguese with senses centered on issuing or dispatching documents or goods. In both languages, the term carries a formal, administrative connotation and often appears in legal, bureaucratic, or commercial contexts. The core idea is to prepare something for formal availability or to send something to a recipient.

In Spanish, expedir commonly means to issue or dispatch. It is used with documents, certificates, invoices, registrations, and shipments. Typical phrases include expedir una factura (to issue an invoice), expedir un certificado (to issue a certificate), expedir pasaportes or expedir visas (to issue passports or visas), and expedir un envío (to ship a shipment). It can also mean to dispatch mail or goods.

In Portuguese, expedir also denotes issuing documents or dispatching items, though in everyday language emitir is often used for some senses. Common uses include expedir um documento (to issue a document), expedir uma fatura (to issue an invoice), expedir mercadorias (to ship goods) and expedir um passaporte (to issue a passport). In formal or institutional contexts, expedir appears in communications and administrative procedures.

Etymology: the verb in both languages descends from Latin roots connected to making ready or releasing, developing in the Romance languages with a sense focused on formal issuance or dispatch. Related terms in both languages include emitir, despachar, and the noun forms expedición/expedição.

See also: emitir, despachar, envio, expedição.