Hypertext Webster Gateway: "expiration"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Expiration \Ex`pi*ra"tion\, n. [L. expiratio,exspiratio: cf. F.
expiration. See {Expire}.]
1. The act of expiring; as:
(a) (Physiol.) The act or process of breathing out, or
forcing air from the lungs through the nose or mouth;
as, respiration consists of inspiration and
expiration; -- opposed to {inspiration}.
(b) Emission of volatile matter; exhalation.
The true cause of cold is an expiration from the
globe of the earth. --Bacon.
(c) The last emission of breath; death. ``The groan of
expiration.'' --Rambler.
(d) A coming to a close; cessation; extinction;
termination; end.
Before the expiration of thy time. --Shak.
2. That which is expired; matter breathed forth; that which
is produced by breathing out, as a sound.
The aspirate ``he,'' which is . . . a gentle
expiration. --G. Sharp.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
expiration
n 1: a coming to an end of a contract period; "the expiry of his
driver's license" [syn: {termination}, {expiry}]
2: euphemistic expressions for death; "thousands mourned his
passing" [syn: {passing}, {loss}, {departure}, {exit}, {going},
{release}]
3: the act of expelling air from the lungs [syn: {exhalation},
{breathing out}]
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