express
adjective/ɪkˈspres/
/ɪkˈspres/
[only before noun]- travelling very fast; operating very quickly
- an express bus/coach/train
- express delivery services
- (of a letter, package, etc.) sent by express service
- express mail
- (North American English) (of a company that delivers packages) providing an express service
- an air express company
- (formal) (of a wish or an aim) clearly and openly stated synonym definite
- It was his express wish that you should have his gold watch after he died.
- I came here with the express purpose of speaking with the manager.
Word Originadjective sense 1 early 18th cent. (as a verb): extension of express ‘state clearly’; sense (1) of the noun from express train, so named because it served a particular destination without intermediate stops, reflecting an earlier sense of express ‘done or made for a special purpose’, later interpreted in the sense “rapid”. Senses relating to express delivery date from the institution of this postal service in 1891. adjective sense 4 late Middle English: from Old French expres, from Latin expressus ‘distinctly presented’, past participle of exprimere ‘press out’, from ex- ‘out’ + primere ‘press’.
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