Expressum

Expressum is a term that appears in various scholarly discussions to denote an explicit form of expression or representation. It is not a standardized technical term with a single fixed definition, but rather a label used in different fields to indicate an item, statement, or construct presented directly rather than inferred.

Etymology and sense: expressum comes from the Latin expressus meaning "expressed" or "stated," with the noun-forming suffix -um. This heritage underlines its typical association with something that is articulated or made explicit, as opposed to something implicit or tacit.

Possible usages: In linguistics and semiotics, expressum is sometimes used to refer to a linguistic item that carries explicit information, contrasting with implicature or presupposition. In philosophy of language, it can denote the expressed content of a proposition or a form that makes the authorial stance explicit rather than implicit. In information representation and data science, expressum may describe a structured, machine-readable encoding of a claim or assertion designed for explicit retrieval and reasoning.

History and reception: The term is uncommon and largely appears in niche or experimental writings rather than standard textbooks. Because of its broad and nonstandard usage, expressum is encountered with varying definitions across disciplines. Some authors propose a formal framework around expressum to analyze explicit versus implicit knowledge representations, though such frameworks are not widely adopted.

See also: expression, explicit knowledge, representation, implicature.