Expediting

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Causing a procedure or action to happen faster than usual
2. Facilitating quicker completion or progress of a task or event
3. Helping to advance the pace of an operation to reduce delays

Etymology: "Expediting" is the present participle of "expedite," so its story is really the story of the verb. The Latin source, "expedītus," meant "unimpeded" or "unfettered," and it came from "expedire," which combined "ex-" (out) with "pes," the foot. The image behind it is of freeing someone's feet from the snares or shackles that held them in place, so that they could move on. Latin speakers used the verb in the sense of setting something right or bringing it forward, which is the same sense of getting out of the way that the English word still carries. English took the verb from Latin, and its earliest senses were closer to the literal idea of clearing an obstacle than to the modern notion of hurrying. Over time the meaning narrowed toward making a process faster or more efficient, which is why "expediting" today describes pushing a delivery, an application, or a shipment along rather than freeing anything from chains.

Synonyms: hastening, accelerating

Antonyms: delaying, slowing