expendere

Expendere is a Latin verb of the third conjugation meaning to spend, outlay, or expend, with the broad sense of using up resources such as money, time, or effort. It can also mean to weigh out, in the sense of making a payment or allocation by measurement.

Principal parts and forms: The standard principal parts are expendō, expendere, expendī, expensum. In ordinary narrative Latin it appears with the usual third-conjugation endings to express spending in the present, past, and future tenses, and can also be used in passive constructions as needed.

Usage and senses: The core sense is to spend or pay out something directed at a purpose. Typical constructions include pecūniam expendere (to spend money) or tempus expendere (to spend time). It is common in financial, legal, and bureaucratic writing to refer to disbursing funds or resources. Figurative uses include expending energy, labor, or attention on a project, an idea, or a task. In classical prose, the verb appears with various objects and with phrases that specify what is being spent or used.

Etymology and related terms: The word is formed from ex- “out” + pendere “to weigh, to hang,” conveying the sense of weighing out or paying out resources. In English, it yields derivatives such as expend, expenditure, and expenditure-related terms, reflecting the same financial and resource-management concerns.

See also: Expenditure; Expend; Expenditure in economics.