I to 
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One 
_ expirant 
expirafe, exspirare, expire: see expire.] 
who is expiring. Is. Taylor. 
expiration (eks-pi-ra'shon), M. [=F. expiration 4f. To come out; fly out, 
= Pr. cxpirnriii = Sp. cxpirurion = Pg. expira- 
fSo = It. ('.i/iii-ii~ioiie,< 1^ expiratio(n-), 
ratio(n-), a breathing out, < expirare, exs 
For still he knew his power 
Not yet expired. M Him, V. R. , iv. 395. 
The distance judg'd for shut of every si/.c, 
The linstocks touch, the ponderous hall fj- 
, ,- , '?' =syn. 2. /vnw,. ,-t, 
breathe out: see czjwe.J 1. 1 he act ot breath- expiring (eks-pir'ing), j> .a. 1. Pertaining to or 
ing out; expulsion of air from the lungs in the used in the breathing out of air from the lungs, 
process of respiration: opposed to inspiration. Iftheinspiri , lgol .^ ri , 1 , 701 . ga , lofa , iya ,,imalbestopt, 
it suddenly dies. /. tt'alton. Complete Angler. 
Pertaining or belonging to the close of life ; 
occurring just before death: as, expiring ef- 
is taken. Quoin, Med. Diet., p. 1339. f or t s . cxpirimj groans. 
2. The last emission of breath; cessation; death, expiry (eks'pi-ri), w. [< expire + -ij.] Expira- 
This is a very great cause of the dryness and expiration tion ; termination. 
of men's devotion, because onr souls are so little refreshed 
with the waters ami holy dews of meditation. 
Jer. Taylor, Works (ed. 1835), I. 66. 
We have heard him breathe the groan of expiration. 
Johnson, Rambler. 
We had to leave at the expiry of the term. 
Lamb, To Wordsworth. 
Expiry of the legal, in Scots lav, the expiration of the 
period within which the subject of an adjudication may 
lir redeemed, on payment of the debt adjudged for. 
3. Close; end; conclusion; termination: as, expiscate (eks-pis'kat), v. t. [< L. expiscatus, 
the expiration of a month or year ; the expini- pp. of tscpuoari, search out, find out, lit. fish out, 
< ex, out, + piscari, fish, < piscis = E. fish.] To 
search out ; hence, to discover by subtle means 
or by strict examination. 
Expiscating if the renown'd extreme 
They force on us will serve their turns. 
Chapman, Iliad, x. 181. 
tion of a contract or a lease. 
Thou ... art come, 
Before the expiration of thy time. 
Shak., Rich. II., ii. 3. 
4. That which is produced by audible expiring 
or breathing otit, as a sound. 
The aspirate "he," which is none other than a gentle ex- 
piration. Abp. Sharp, Dissertations, p. 41. 
That he had passed a riotous nonage, that he was a 
zealot, . . . and that he figured memorably in the scene 
on Magus Mnir, so much and no more could I expiscate. 
It. L. Stevenson, Hist, of Fife. 
expiscate 
5. Emission of volatile matter from any sub- 
stance; evaporation; exhalation: as, the e.epi- expiscation (eks-pis-ka'shon), n. [< ex L 
ration of oxygen by plants. [Rare or obsolete.] +-ion.] The act of expiscating, fishing, or fish- 
The tme cause of cold is an expiration from the globe ing out ; hence, the act of getting at the truth of 
of the earth. Bacon, Nat. Hist., 8 866. an y matter by strict inquiry and examination. 
expirator (eks'pi-ra-tor). 11. [< L. expirare, pp. All thy worth, yet, thyselfe must patronise 
By quaffing more of the Castalian head ; 
In expiscation of whose mysteries, 
Our nets must still be clogg'd with heavie lead 
To make them sinke and catch. 
expiratus, breathe out : see expire.] A device 
for sending a stream of air outward. 
The instrument has ... a simpler form when required 
to act only as an aspirator. . . . When an increased re- 
sistance has to be overcome, the instrument being used 
either as aspirator or as expirator, the tube / is drawn BXplSCator (eks'pis-ka-tor), n. [< expiscate + 
farther out. Ure, Diet., I. 261. 
expiratory (eks-pfr'a-to-ri), a. [< expire + 
-atory.] Pertaining to the emission or expira- 
tion of breath from the lungs. 
Chapman, On B. Jonson's Sejanus. 
-or.] One who expiscates or examines care- 
fully and minutely into the truth or meaning 
of something. 
This battle of Biggar is worthy of the attention of these 
mighty expiscatori and exploders of myths, Sir George ('. 
expire (eks-plr'), . ; pret. and pp. expired, ppr. 
H/lGCHiUC V/liU, CJmtMO, ^I^CIIULHJ vw tj *ult,v, ^^^^I.AVJ, > , - , 
ex, out, + spirare, breathe: see spirit. Cf. aspire, ' 
conspire, inspire, perspire, respire, suspire, trail- nation. 
SDire ~\ I trail*. 1 To breathe out; expel By innumerable confrontations and expiscatory ques- 
<Wr, tlia 'mmifVi r,r Tmnt-i-ilo in tlifi nrftppss of tions ' through entanglements, doublings, and windings 
trom the mouth or nostrils m tne process that fatl eye aml 801ll this 11108t involute of lies is 
respiration; emit from the lungs: opposed to finally winded off. Carlyle, Diamond Necklace, xvi. 
inspire. ^^ ^^ ^ ^ explain (eks-plan'), v. [< OF. explaner = Sp. 
Volumes of curling Smoke. Pg. explanar = It. spianare, < L. explanare, flat- 
Congreve, Pindaric Odes, ii. ten, spread out, make plain or clear, explain, < 
ex, out, -f- planare, flatten, make level, (planus, 
level, plain: see plain, plane. Cf. esplanade, 
splanade.] I. trans. lj. To make plain or flat ; 
spread out in a flattened form ; unfold. 
The Constantinopolitan, or horse chesnut, is turgid with 
This year Captain Miles Standish expired his mortal life. 
y. Morton, New England's Memorial, p. 262. 
This chaf'd the boar, his nostrils flames expire, 
And his red eyeballs roll with living fire. 
Dryden, Meleager and Atalanta, 1. 121. 
2. To give out or forth insensibly or gently, as 
a fluid or volatile matter ; exhale ; yield. [Rare 
or obsolete.] 
And force the veins of dashing flints to expire 
The lurking seeds of their celestial fire. 
The expiring of cold out of the inward parts of the earth 
in winter. Bacon, Nat. Hist., 69. 
3f. To exhaust; wear out; bring to an end. 
To swill the drinke that will expyre thy date? 
Lyly, Euphues, Anat. of Wit, p. 77. 
Now when as Time, flying with winges swift, 
Expired had the terme. 
Spenser, Mother Hub. Tale, 1. 308. 
MSn^^fv^'SfSS 3. To exhibit, disclose, or state the grounds or 
tif. rH P causes of the existence or occurrence of ; reveal 
buds and ready to explain its leaf. 
Evelyn, Letter to Sec. of Royal Society. 
2. To make plain or clear to the mind : render 
intelligible ; unfold, analyze, state, or describe 
in such a manner as to make evident to the 
minds of others ; exhibit the nature, meaning, 
or significance of; interpret; elucidate; ex- 
pound. 
'Tis revelation satisfies all doubts, 
Explains all mysteries except her own, 
And so illuminates the path of life 
That fools discover it, and stray no more. 
Cowper, Task, ii. 528. 
Commentators explain the difficult passages. Gay. 
breath; die. 
My last was a Discourse of the Latin or primitive Ro- jjfTJjlT 17" ^cprimir" 
man Tongue, which may be said to be expir'd in the Mar- ' 
ket, tho' living yet in the Schools. Howell, Letters, ii. 59. 
Thus on Majander's flowery margin lies 
Th' expiring swan, and as he sings he dies. 
Pope, R. of the L., v. 66. 
Wind my thread of life up higher, 
Up, through angels' hands of flre ! 
I aspire while I expire. 
Mrs. Browning, Bertha in the Lane. 
3. To come to an end; close or conclude, as 
a given period; come to nothing; cease; ter- 
minate; fail or perish; end: as, the lease will 
expire on the first day of May ; all his hopes of 
empire expired. 
And when forty years were expired, there appeared to 
him in the wilderness of mount Sina an angel of the Lord 
in a flame of fire in a bush. Acts vii. 30. 
131 
or state the causal or logical antecedents or con- 
Why from Comparisons should I refrain, 
Or fear small things by greater to explain t - 
Congreve, tr. of Ovid's Art of Love. 
His errors are at once explained by a reference to the 
circumstances in which he was placed. 
Macaulay, Machiavelli. 
If protestants commit suicide more often than catholics, 
we explain this fact by showing that suicide is increased 
by civilization, and that in the main catholics are more 
ignorant and uncivilized. F. II. Bradley, Logic, III. ii. 2. 
To explain away, to deprive of significance by explana- 
tion ; nullify or get rid of the apparent import of ; clear 
away by interpretation: generally with an adverse im- 
plinition : as, to explain away a passage of Scripture ; to 
explain au r ay one's fault or offense. 
Those explain the meaning quite aivay. 
Pope, Essay on Criticism, 1. 117. 
explanation 
Conscience is no longer recognized as an independent 
arbiter of actions ; its authority is explained aim*/. 
J. U. Newman, I'aroclrial .Sermons, i. 312. 
= Syn. Explain. EjtpoiiHil, Interpret, Elm-i'lnti . Explain 
is the most general of these words, unil means to make 
plain, clear, and intelligible. Eri^uiul is used of elabo- 
rate, fiirmal. m methodical explanation : as, to expomul a 
text, the hiw, the philosophy of Aristotle. To interpret is 
to explain, as if from a foreign language, to make clear 
what befiire was dark, and generally by following the ori- 
ginal closely, as word by word ami line by line : as. to in- 
terpret Hegel, Swedenliurg, Kmerson. To eluridate is to 
bring or work out into the light that which before was 
dark, usually by means of illustration ; the word (re;ierally 
implies, like exptnuul, a somewhat protracted or elaborate 
process. See translate. 
The quarrel is a very pretty quarrel as it stands ; we 
should only spoil it by trying to explain it. 
Sheridan, The Rivals, iv. 3. 
The aim in expounding a great poem should be, not to 
discover an endless variety of meanings often contradic- 
tory, but whatever it has of great and perennial signifi- 
cance. Lowell, Among my Books, 2d ser., p. 44. 
One speaks the glory of the British Queen, 
And one describes a charming Indian screen ; 
A third interprets motions, looks, and eyes. 
Pope, R. of theL.,iii. 2. 
The scheme of the Gospel is not only of the most tran- 
scendent use, as it confirms, elucidates, and enforces the 
moral law, but of the most absolute necessity. 
Bp. Kurd, Works, VI. iv. 
II. intrans. To give explanations. 
I shall not extenuate, but explain and dilucidate, ac- 
cording to the custom of the ancients. 
Sir T. Brovme, Vulg. Err. 
explainable (eks-pla'na-bl), a. [< explain + 
-able.] Capable of being explained or made 
plain; interpretable. 
It is symbolically explainable, and implieth purification 
and cleanness, when in the burnt offerings the priest is 
commanded to wash the inwards and legs thereof in water. 
Sir T. Browne, Vulg. Err., v. 21. 
explainer (eks-pla'ner), n. One who explains ; 
an expositor; an interpreter. 
Unless he can show his authority to be the sole explainer 
of fundamentals, he will in vain make such a pudder about 
his fundamentals. Another explainer, of as good author- 
ity as he, will set up others against them. 
Locke, Vind. of Christianity. 
explaitt, ". [ME. explait, esplait, expleit, espleit, 
< OF. esplait, espleit, expleit, an action, exploit, 
etc.: see exploit, ., of which explait is an earlier 
form.] 1. Achievement. 2. Advantage; fur- 
therance; promotion. 
For explait of their spede, thai spekyn in fere 
To chese horn a cheftayn to be chefe of them all. 
Destruction of Troy (E. E. T. S.), 1. 3661. 
explaitt, '. t. [Also expiate; < ME. "expleiten, 
espleiten, < OF. espleiter, expleiter, achieve, per- 
form, exploit: see exploit, v., of which explait 
is an earlier form.] 1. To perform; achieve; 
promote. 2. To explicate ; explain. 
Thou dost deal 
Desired justice to the public weal, 
Like Solon's self explat'xt the knotty laws 
With endless labours. 
B. Jonson, Underwoods, Ixv. 
explanate (eks'pla-nat), a. [< L. explanatus, 
pp. of explanare, flatten, spread out: see ex- 
plain.'] 1. In hot. and znol., flattened; spread 
out. 2. In entom., having the margin flat and 
dilated, forming an edge : said of the thorax or 
elytra when the outer sides are so dilated, of 
the mandibles, etc. 
explanation (eks-pla-na'shon), n. [= F. ex- 
planation (rare) = Sp. explanation = Pg. ex- 
planagSo, < L. explanatio(n-), an explanation, 
interpretation, < explanare, explain: see ex- 
plain.] 1. The act of explaining. () The act 
or process of making plain or clear the nature, meaning, 
or significance of something ; the act of rendering intel- 
ligible what was before obscure, as by analysis or descrip- 
tion ; elucidation ; interpretation : as, the explanation of 
a passage in Scripture, or of a contract or treaty. 
Explanation, then, is analysis, real or ideal, sensible 
or extra-sensible. It takes the object, or the feeling, to 
pieces ; and is a perfect analysis when the pieces that are 
obtained can be put together again, and form the original 
whole. O. II. Lewes, Probs. of Life and Mind, II. ii. 3. 
(i>) The process of showing by reasoning or investigation 
the causal or logical antecedents or conditions of some 
thing or event which is to be accounted for; specifically, 
the making clear by reasoning how certain observed or 
admitted facts may have been brought about by the action 
of known principles, if a certain supposition is allowed; 
the unification of a confused mass of facts, by means of a 
single known or supposed fact from which they would all 
necessarily or probably result. 
The word explanation occurs so continually, and holds 
so important a place in philosophy, that a little time 
spent in fixing the meaning of it will be profitably em- 
ployed. An individual fact is said to be explained, by 
pointing out its cause, that is, by stating the law or laws 
of causation, of which its production is an instance. Thus, 
a conflagration is explained, when it is proved to have 
arisen from a spark falling into the midst of a heap of 
combustibles. J. S. UiU, Logic, III. xii. 1 1. 
