EXPECTATION

expectation, outlook, prospect

(noun) belief about (or mental picture of) the future

expectation

(noun) the feeling that something is about to happen

anticipation, expectation

(noun) anticipating with confidence of fulfillment

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Noun

expectation (countable and uncountable, plural expectations)

The act or state of expecting or looking forward to an event as about to happen.

That which is expected or looked for.

The prospect of the future; grounds upon which something excellent is expected to occur; prospect of anything good to come, especially of property or rank.

The value of any chance (as the prospect of prize or property) which depends upon some contingent event.

(statistics) The first moment; the long-run average value of a variable over many independent repetitions of an experiment.

(colloquial statistics) The arithmetic mean.

(medicine, rare) The leaving of a disease principally to the efforts of nature to effect a cure.

Usage notes

• (value of any chance): Expectations are computed for or against the occurrence of the event.

Synonyms

• (colloquial statistics, arithmetic mean): arithmetic mean; average

Source: Wiktionary

Ex`pec*ta"tion n. Etym: [L. expectio. exspectio: cf. F. expectation.]

1. The act or state of expecting or looking forward to an event as about to happen. "In expectation of a guest." Tennyson. My soul, wait thou only upon God, for my expectation is from him. Ps. lxii. 5.

2. That which is expected or looked for. Why our great expectation should be called The seed of woman. Milton.

3. The prospect of the future; grounds upon which something excellent is expected to happen; prospect of anything good to come, esp. of c or rank. His magnificent expiations made him, in the opinion of the world, the best much in Europe. Prescott. By all men's eyes a youth of expectations. Otway.

4. The value of any chance (as the prospect of prize or property) which depends upon some contingent event. Expectations are computed for or against the occurrence of the event.

5. (Med.)

Definition: The leaving of the disease principally to the efforts of nature to effect a cure. Expectation of life, the mean or average duration of the life individuals after any specified age.

Syn.

– Anticipation; confidence; trust.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition