different between expedient vs sterling

English

Etymology

From Middle English expedient, from Old French expedient, from Latin expediens (stem expedient-), present participle of expedire (“to bring forward, to dispatch, to expedite; impers. to be profitable, serviceable, advantageous, expedient”), from ex (“out”) + p?s (“foot, hoof”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?k?spi?di.?nt/

Adjective

expedient (comparative more expedient, superlative most expedient)

1. Suitable to effect some desired end or the purpose intended.
   • a. 1863, Richard Whately, Thoughts and Apophthegms

     Nothing but the right can ever be the expedient, since that can never be true expediency which would sacrifice a greater good to a less.

2. Affording short-term benefit, often at the expense of the long-term.
3. Governed by self-interest, often short-term self-interest.
4. (obsolete) Expeditious, quick, rapid.
   • a 1623, Shakespeare, King John, Act II, scene i, lines 57–61:

     the adverse winds / Whose leisure I have stay'd, have given him time / To land his legions all as soon as I; / His marches are expedient to this town / His forces strong, his soldiers confident.

Synonyms

• advisable, desirable, judicious, politic, prudent, tactical, wise

Related terms

Translations

Noun

expedient (plural expedients)

1. A method or means for achieving a particular result, especially when direct or efficient; a resource.
   • 1906, O. Henry, The Green Door:

     He would never let her know that he was aware of the strange expedient to which she had been driven by her great distress.

   • 2009, Diarmaid MacCulloch, A History of Christianity, Penguin 2010, page 709:

     Depressingly, [...] the expedient of importing African slaves was in part meant to protect the native American population from exploitation.

Translations

Further reading

• expedient in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• expedient in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• expedient at OneLook Dictionary Search
• Douglas Harper (2001–2021) , “expedient”, in Online Etymology Dictionary

Catalan

Etymology

From Latin expedi?ns.

Adjective

expedient (masculine and feminine plural expedients)

1. expedient, convenient

Noun

expedient m (plural expedients)

1. file, record, dossier

Derived terms

• expedientar

Further reading

• “expedient” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

Latin

Verb

expedient

1. third-person plural future active indicative of expedi?

Romanian

Etymology

From French expédient.

Noun

expedient n (plural expediente)

1. expedient

Declension

English

Etymology

From Middle English sterling, sterlinge, sterlynge, starling, of uncertain origin. Possibly from sterling (“starling”) (the bird), which at one time was engraved on one quarter of the coin; or perhaps from Middle English sterre (“star”) + -ling (as in shilling), as some Norman coins presumably featured stars on them.

For the UK currency gloss, the term is a contraction of esterling, referring to eastern merchants from Baltic towns who established a bullion weight standard for transactions.(Taylor and Palmer, 1968)

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?st??(?).l??/
• Rhymes: -??(r)l??

Noun

sterling (countable and uncountable, plural sterlings)

1. The currency of the United Kingdom; especially the pound.
2. Former British gold or silver coinage of a standard fineness: for gold 0.91666 and for silver 0.925.
   • S. M. Leake

     Sterling was the known and approved standard in England, in all probability, from the beginning of King Henry the Second's reign.

3. Sterling silver, or articles made from this material.
4. A structure of pilings that protects the piers of a bridge; a starling.

Translations

Adjective

sterling (comparative more sterling, superlative most sterling)

1. (not comparable) of, or relating to British currency, or the former British coinage.
2. (not comparable) of, relating to, or made from sterling silver.
3. Of acknowledged worth or influence; high quality; authoritative.
4. Genuine; true; pure; of great value or excellence.
   • 2016 January 31, "Is Huma Abedin Hillary Clinton’s Secret Weapon or Her Next Big Problem?," Vanity Fair (retrieved 21 January 2016):

     But Rodríguez says, “Neither the law nor the facts support Senator Grassley’s baseless allegations and extrapolated conclusions. It is disappointing that the senator and his staff continue to focus a politically motivated campaign on Ms. Abedin, who has been known her entire professional life for hard work, integrity, and her sterling reputation. It is people like Ms. Abedin whom we should all want in public service.”

Translations

References

• Taylor, Isaac; Palmer, Abram Smythe (1968). Words and places; or, Etymological illustrations of history, ethnology, and geography. University of Michigan. Detroit, Gale Research Co.

Anagrams

• Giltners, Tinglers, glistren, ringlets, tinglers, tringles