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expirar

Expirar is a Spanish verb with several related meanings. It can mean to cease to be valid or in effect, as with deadlines or documents; to die, in a formal or literary register; and to exhale air from the lungs, in physiological terms.

Etymology: The term comes from Latin exspirare, formed from ex- “out” and spirare “to breathe.” The sense

Usage and senses:

- Expiration of validity: used to indicate that a document, license, contract, or deadline is no longer

- Death: in literary or formal contexts, one may say that someone expired: “El paciente expiró.” This

- Exhalation: in physiological or medical contexts, expirar denotes the act of exhaling. The related noun expiración

Notes: Expirar is a formal or specialized term; for everyday language, choose caducar/vencer for validity, morir/fallecer

of
letting
air
out
of
the
lungs
is
carried
into
modern
usage,
as
are
the
ideas
of
ending
validity
and
of
dying
in
formal
language.
in
effect
after
a
certain
date.
For
example,
“La
licencia
expira
el
31
de
diciembre.”
In
everyday
speech,
verbs
like
caducar
or
vencer
are
also
common.
sense
is
less
common
in
everyday
conversation,
where
morir
or
fallecer
are
typical.
refers
to
the
exhalation
process,
as
in
“La
expiración
es
la
fase
de
salida
del
aire
de
los
pulmones,”
with
inspiración
being
the
inhalation
counterpart.
for
death,
and
exhalar
or
respirar
with
appropriate
context
for
breathing.
Expiración
is
the
standard
noun
for
the
exhalation
process,
while
la
expiración
de
un
documento
or
plazo
is
a
precise
legal/administrative
usage.