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Webster 1913 Edition

Expiate

Ex′pi-ate

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Expiated
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Expiating
.]
[L.
expiatus
, p. p. of
expiare
to expiate;
ex
out +
piare
to seek to appease, to purify with sacred rites, fr.
pius
pious. See
Pious
.]
1.
To extinguish the guilt of by sufferance of penalty or some equivalent; to make complete satisfaction for; to atone for; to make amends for; to make expiation for;
as, to
expiate
a crime, a guilt, or sin
.
To
expiate
his treason, hath naught left.
Milton.
The Treasurer obliged himself to
expiate
the injury.
Clarendon.
2.
To purify with sacred rites.
[Obs.]
Neither let there be found among you any one that shall
expiate
his son or daughter, making them to pass through the fire.
Deut. xviii. 10 (Douay version)

Ex′pi-ate

,
Adj.
[L.
expiatus
,p. p]
Terminated.
[Obs.]
Shak.

Webster 1828 Edition

Expiate

EX'PIATE

,
Verb.
T.
[L. expio; ex and pio, to worship, to atone; pius, pious, mild. The primary sense is probably to appease, to pacify, to allay resentment, which is the usual sense of atone in most languages which I have examined. Pio is probably contracted from pico, and from the root of paco, the radical sense of which is to lay, set or fix; the primary sense of peach,
pax.
Hence the sense of mild in pius. But this opinion is offered only as probable.
1.
To atone for; to make satisfaction for; to extinguish the guilt of a crime by subsequent acts of piety or worship, by which the obligation to punish the crime is canceled. To expiate guilt or a crime, is to perform some act which is supposed to purify the person guilty; or some act which is accepted by the offended party as satisfaction for the injury; that is, some act by which his wrath is appeased,and his forgiveness procured.
2.
To make reparation for; as, to expiate an injury.
3.
To avert the threats of prodigies.

Definition 2024

expiate

expiate

English

Verb

expiate ‎(third-person singular simple present expiates, present participle expiating, simple past and past participle expiated)

  1. (transitive or intransitive) To atone or make reparation for.
    • Clarendon
      The Treasurer obliged himself to expiate the injury.
    • 1888, Leo XIII, "Quod Anniversarius",
      Thus those pious souls who expiate the remainder of their sins amidst such tortures will receive a special and opportune consolation, […]
    • 1913, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Return of Tarzan, Chapter VI,
      I am going out to expiate a great wrong, Paul. A very necessary feature of the expiation is the marksmanship of my opponent.
  2. (transitive) To make amends or pay the penalty for.
  3. (transitive, obsolete) To relieve or cleanse of guilt.
    • 1829, Pierre Henri Larcher, Larcher's Notes on Herodotus, vol. 2, p. 195,
      […] and Epimenides was brought from Crete to expiate the city.
  4. To purify with sacred rites.
    • Bible, Deuteronomy xviii. 10 (Douay version)
      Neither let there be found among you any one that shall expiate his son or daughter, making them to pass through the fire.

Usage notes

Intransitive use, constructed with for (like atone), is obsolete in Christian usage, but fairly common in informal discussions of Islam.

Translations

Related terms

Latin

Verb

expiāte

  1. first-person plural present active imperative of expiō

Etymology

From Latin expiatum, past participle of expiō ‎(“atone for”).

Pronunciation

  • (UK, US) IPA(key): /ˈɛk.spi.eɪt/

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