n. [ See Dispand. ] Act of dispanding, or state of being dispanded. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ From L. expansus, p. p. of expandere. See Expand. ] That which is expanded or spread out; a wide extent of space or body; especially, the arch of the sky. “The green expanse.” Savage. [ 1913 Webster ]

Lights . . . high in the expanse of heaven. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

The smooth expanse of crystal lakes. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To expand. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

That lies expansed unto the eyes of all. Sir. T. Browne. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The capacity of being expanded; as, the expansibility of air. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Cf. F. expansible. ] Capable of being expanded or spread out widely. [ 1913 Webster ]

Bodies are not expansible in proportion to their weight. Grew.

-- Ex*pan"si*ble*ness ,n. -Ex*pan"si*bly , adv. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Expansible. [ 1913 Webster ]

Ether and alcohol are more expansile than water. Brande & C. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. expansio: cf. F. expansion. ] 1. The act of expanding or spreading out; the condition of being expanded; dilation; enlargement. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. That which is expanded; expanse; extend surface; as, the expansion of a sheet or of a lake; the expansion was formed of metal. [ 1913 Webster ]

The starred expansion of the skies. Beattie. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Space through which anything is expanded; also, pure space. [ 1913 Webster ]

Lost in expansion, void and infinite. Blackmore. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Economics & Commmerce) an increase in the production of goods and services over time, and in the volume of business transactions, generally associated with an increase in employment and an increase in the money supply. Opposite of contraction.
Syn. -- economic expansion. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

5. (Math.) The developed result of an indicated operation; as, the expansion of (a + b)2 is a2 + 2ab + b2. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. (Steam Engine) The operation of steam in a cylinder after its communication with the boiler has been cut off, by which it continues to exert pressure upon the moving piston. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. (Nav. Arch.) The enlargement of the ship mathematically from a model or drawing to the full or building size, in the process of construction. Ham. Nav. Encyc. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Expansion is also used adjectively, as in expansion joint, expansion gear, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

8. an enlarged or extended version of something, such as a writing or discourse; as, the journal article is an expansion of the lecture she gave. [ PJC ]

9. an expansion joint. See below. [ Colloq. or jargon ] [ PJC ]

Expansion curve, a curve the coördinates of which show the relation between the pressure and volume of expanding gas or vapor; esp. (Steam engine), that part of an indicator diagram which shows the declining pressure of the steam as it expands in the cylinder. --
Expansion gear (Steam Engine). a cut-off gear. See Illust. of Link motion. --
Automatic expansion gear or
Automatic cut-off, one that is regulated by the governor, and varies the supply of steam to the engine with the demand for power. --
Fixed expansion gear, or
Fixed cut-off, one that always operates at the same fixed point of the stroke. --
Expansion joint, or
Expansion coupling (Mech. & Engin.), a yielding joint or coupling for so uniting parts of a machine or structure that expansion, as by heat, is prevented from causing injurious strains; as: (a) A slide or set of rollers, at the end of bridge truss, to support it but allow end play. (b) A telescopic joint in a steam pipe, to permit one part of the pipe to slide within the other. (c) A clamp for holding a locomotive frame to the boiler while allowing lengthwise motion. (d) a strip of compressible material placed at intervals between blocks of poured concrete, as in roads or sidewalks. --
Expansion valve (Steam Engine), a cut-off valve, to shut off steam from the cylinder before the end of each stroke. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Cf. F. expansif. ] 1. Having a capacity or tendency to expand or dilate; diffusive; of much expanse; wide-extending; as, the expansive force of heat; the expansive quality of air. [ wns=1 ] [ 1913 Webster ]

A more expansive and generous compassion. Eustace. [ 1913 Webster ]

His forehead was broad and expansive. Prescott.

2. causing expansion; as, the expansive force of heat. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

3. of much expanse; wide-extending; as, an expansive view of the mountains. [ PJC ]

4. friendly, open, and unrestrained in conversation or discourse; -- of people; as, wine made the guest expansive. [ wns=4 ]
Syn. -- effusive, talkative. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

5. characterized by exaggerated feelings of euphoria and delusions of grandeur. [ wns=3 ] [ WordNet 1.5 ]

-- Ex*pan"sive*ly, adv. -Ex*pan"sive*ness, n. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. a quality characterized by magnificence of scale; as, the expansiveness of their extravagant lifestyle was soon curtailed. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. a friendly open trait of a talkative person.
Syn. -- effusiveness. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. 1. the fractional change in length or area or volume per unit change in temperature at a given constant pressure.
Syn. -- coefficient of expansion. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. Expanse. [ Obs. ] “Night's rich expansure.” [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Incapable of expansion, enlargement, or extension. Tyndall. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. pl.; sing. Lipan (Ethnol.) A tribe of North American Indians, inhabiting the northern part of Mexico. They belong to the Tinneh stock, and are closely related to the Apaches. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ . See Panslavic, Panslavism, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. An earthen vessel wider at the top than at the bottom, -- used for holding milk and for various other purposes. [ Prov. Eng. ] Halliwell. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ From Pansy. ] Covered or adorned with pansies. “The pansied grounds.” Darwin. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Pan- + Slavic. ] Pertaining to all the Slavic races. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A scheme or desire to unite all the Slavic races into one confederacy. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who favors Panslavism. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. See Panslavic. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ See Pansophy. ] All-wise; claiming universal knowledge; as, pansophical pretenders. [ R. ] John Worthington. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Pan- + Gr. &unr_; wisdom, &unr_; wise: cf. F. pansophie. ] Universal wisdom; esp., a system of universal knowledge proposed by Comenius (1592 -- 1671), a Moravian educator. [ R. ] Hartlib. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Biol.) Of or pertaining to panspermy; as, the panspermic hypothesis. [ 1913 Webster ]

Same as panspermia. [ PJC ]

{ } n. (Biol.) A believer in panspermy; one who rejects the theory of spontaneous generation; a biogenist. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Pan- + Gr. &unr_; a seed. ] (Biol.) (a) The doctrine of the widespread distribution of germs, from which under favorable circumstances bacteria, vibrios, etc., may develop. (b) The doctrine that all organisms must come from living parents; biogenesis; -- the opposite of spontaneous generation. (c) The theory that life on earth originated from spores or germs that evolved elsewhere in the uiniverse; -- in contradistinction to the theory that life evolved on earth from inanimate matter. This theory, originally suggested by S. Arrhenius in 1907, is sometimes advanced by those who feel that the time required for evolution of life is too long for life to have evolved on Earth from inanimate matter. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

n. [ NL., fr. Gr. pa^s, pa^n, all + &unr_; solid + &unr_; a view. ] A model of a town or country, in relief, executed in wood, cork, pasteboard, or the like. Brande & C. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Pansies [ F. Pensée thought, pansy, fr. penser to think, L. pensare to weigh, ponder. See Pensive. ] (Bot.) A plant of the genus Viola (Viola tricolor) and its blossom, originally purple and yellow. Cultivated varieties have very large flowers of a great diversity of colors. Called also heart's-ease, love-in-idleness, and many other quaint names. [ 1913 Webster ]