expect (ekspekt)

[= OF. expecter, especter It. espettare, The guards, By me encamp'd on yonder hill, expect Their motion. Milton, P. L., xii. 591. expect Being at this time in most prodigious confusion and under no government, every body expecting what would be next and what he would do. Evelyn , Diary, Feb. 3, 1660. The emperor and his whole court stood on the shore, expecting the i ue of this great adventure. Swift, Gulliver's Travels, i. 5. 2. To look for with anticipation; believe in the occurrence or the coming of; await as likely to happen or to appear. Luc. When expect you them? Cap . With the next benefit o' the wind. Shak ., Cymbeline, iv. 2. Whilst evil is expected , we fear; but when it is certain, we despair. Burton , Anat. of Mel., p. 639. Expect her soon with footboy at her heels. Cowper , Task, iv. 550. To incur a risk is not to expect reverse; and if my opinions are true, I have a right to think that they will bear examining. J. H. Newman , Gram. of A ent, p. 183. 3. To reckon upon, as something to be done, granted, or yielded; desire with confidence or a urance: as, to expect obedience or aid: I shall expect to find that job finished by Saturday; you are expected to be quiet. There is a pride of doing more than is expected of us, and more than others would have done. Dryden , A mph i try on, Pref. 4. To count upon in relation to something; trust or rely upon to do or act in some specified way; require or call upon expectantly: as, I expect you to obey, or to perform a task. England expects every man to do his duty. Lord Nelson (signal at the battle of Trafalgar). 5. To suppose; reckon; conclude: applied to things past or present as well as to things future: as, I expect he went to town yesterday. [Prov. Eng., and local, U. S.] [This use, though naturally derivable from sense 3, is probably in some in stances due to confusion with suspect : as, I rather expect he doesn't intend to come.]=Syn. To anticipate, look forward to, calculate upon, rely upon. " Hope , Expect . Both expre the anticipation of something future; when the anticipation is welcome , we hope ; when it is le or more certain, we expect." ( Angus , Handbook of the Eng. Tongue, p. 378.) Expect , Suppose . Expect properly refers to the future; suppose may refer to the present, the past, or the future. The two words do not differ materially in the degree of certainty felt. It would be the wildest of human imaginations to ex pect a poor, vicious, and ignorant people to maintain a good popular government. D. Webster , Speech at Pittsburg, July, 1833. I suppose , If our proposals once again were heard, We should compel them to a quick result. Milton, P. L., vi. 617. II.t in trans. To wait; stay. I will expect until my change in death, And answer at thy call. Sandys , Paraphrase of Job, p. 22. Where there is a Banquet presented, if there be Persons of Quality there, the People must expect and stay till the great ones have done. Selden , Table-Talk, p. 80. Frosts that constrain the ground, and birth deny To flowers that in its womb expecting lie. Dryden, Astræa Redux, 1. 132. expectt (eks-pekt'), n. [ expect , v.] Expectation. And be 't of le expect That matter needle , of import le burden, Divide thy lips. Shak., T. and C., i. 3. IMG:content-0911.png:[blocks in formation] 2. Looking forward with confidence; a ured that a certain future event will occur. Her majesty has offered conce ions, in order to remove scruples raised in the mind of the expectant heir. Swift . 3. In med . , relating to or employed in the expectant method: as, an expectant medicine. Dunglison .-Expectant estate. See estate in expectancy, under expectance . - Expectant method, in med ., the therapeutic method which recognizes the futility of attempting an immediate cure in certain diseases, as typhoid fever, but consists in watching for and checking any untoward symptoms as they may arise. II. n. 1. One who expects; one who waits in expectation; one held in dependence by his belief or hope of receiving some good. The boldest expectants have found unhappy frustration. Sir T. Browne , Urn-burial, v. Meantime, he is merely an expectant ; but with prospects greatly improved by the death of Salisbury. E. A. Abbott , Bacon, p. 177. expectorate cension day and Whit-Sunday: so called because it was the season of the apostles' earnest prayer for and expectation of the Comforter. =Syn. 2. Anticipation, expectance, expectancy, confidence, trust, reliance, presumption.