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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

exВ·pleВ·tive  
  Audio Help     /Л€Й›k splЙЄ tЙЄv / Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation [ek -spli-tiv ] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation –noun 1. an interjectory word or expression, frequently profane; an exclamatory oath.

2. a syllable, word, or phrase serving to fill out.

3. Grammar . a word considered as regularly filling the syntactic position of another, as it in It is his duty to go, or there in There is nothing here.

–adjective 4. Also, exВ·pleВ·toВ·ry  
  Audio Help     /Л€Й›k splЙЄЛЊtЙ”r i, -ЛЊtoКЉr i/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation [ek -spli-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee ] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation . added merely to fill out a sentence or line, give emphasis, etc.: Expletive remarks padded the speech.

[Origin: 1600–10; explétīvus serving to fill out, equiv. to L explét (us ) filled, filled up (ptp. of explére; see explement ) + -īvus -ive ] —Related forms ex·ple·tive·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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expletive To learn more about expletive visit Britannica.com

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

exВ·pleВ·tive  
  Audio Help   (Д›k'splД­-tД­v)   Pronunciation Key  

n.  

An exclamation or oath, especially one that is profane, vulgar, or obscene.
A word or phrase that does not contribute any meaning but is added only to fill out a sentence or a metrical line.
Linguistics A word or other grammatical element that has no meaning but is needed to fill a syntactic position, such as the words it and there in the sentences It's raining and There are many books on the table.

adj.  

Added or inserted in order to fill out something, such as a sentence or a metrical line.

[From Late Latin explД“tД«vus , serving to fill out , from Latin explД“tus , past participle of explД“re , to fill out : ex- , ex- + plД“re , to fill ; see pelЙ™- 1 in Indo-European roots.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

expletive  
1612, originally "a word or phrase serving to fill out a sentence or metrical line," from L.L. expletivus "serving to fill out," from L. explere "fill out," from ex- "out" + plere "to fill" (see plenary ). Sense of "exclamation," often in the form of a cuss word, first recorded 1815 in Sir Walter Scott.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

expletive noun 1.  profane or obscene expression usually of surprise or anger; "expletives were deleted" [syn: curse ]  2.  a word or phrase conveying no independent meaning but added to fill out a sentence or metrical line 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.

American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition - Cite This Source - Share This

expletive [( ek -spluh-tiv)] Any exclamation or oath, especially one that is obscene or profane, as in “Dammit, I forgot to buy the milk.” Note : The Oval Office tapes of President Richard Nixon , released during the investigation of the Watergate scandal, made famous the phrase “expletive deleted,” which appeared frequently in expurgated transcripts of the tapes. [Chapter:] Conventions of Written English

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Expletive Ex*ple"tion\, n. [L. expletio a satisfying. See Expletive .] Accomplishment; fulfillment. [Obs.] --Killingbeck.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.

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The word 'expletive' is currently used in three senses: 'syntactic expletives',
'expletive attributives', and '"bad language"'.

The word expletive comes from the Latin verb explere, meaning "to fill", via
expletivus, "filling out". It was introduced into English in the seventeenth
century to refer to various kinds of padding — the padding out of a book with
peripheral material, the addition of syllables to a line of poetry for metrical
purposes, and so forth. Use of expletive for such a meaning is now rare. Rather,
expletive is a term in linguistics for a meaningless word filling a syntactic
vacancy (syntactic expletives). Outside linguistics, the word is much more
commonly used to refer to "bad language". Some linguists use it to refer to
meaningless, "filler" use of "bad language" ("expletive attributives"),
distinguishing this from meaningful use.