- Expectation
- Expectation Ex`pec*ta"tion
. [L. expectio. exspectio: cf. F.
expectation.]
1. The act or state of expecting or looking forward to an
event as about to happen. ``In expectation of a guest.''
--Tennyson.
[1913 Webster]
My soul, wait thou only upon God, for my expectation is from him. --Ps. lxii. 5. [1913 Webster]
2. That which is expected or looked for. [1913 Webster]
Why our great expectation should be called The seed of woman. --Milton. [1913 Webster]
3. The prospect of the future; grounds upon which something excellent is expected to happen; prospect of anything good to come, esp. of property or rank. [1913 Webster]
His magnificent expectations made him, in the opinion of the world, the best match in Europe. --Prescott. [1913 Webster]
By all men's eyes a youth of expectation. --Otway. [1913 Webster]
4. The value of any chance (as the prospect of prize or property) which depends upon some contingent event. Expectations are computed for or against the occurrence of the event. [1913 Webster]
5. (Med.) The leaving of the disease principally to the efforts of nature to effect a cure. [1913 Webster]
{Expectation of life}, the mean or average duration of the life individuals after any specified age.
Syn: Anticipation; confidence; trust. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.