expletive

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ex·ple·tive / ˈeksplitiv/ • n. an oath or swear word. ∎  Gram. a word or phrase used to fill out a sentence or a line of verse without adding to the sense.• adj. Gram. (of a word or phrase) serving to fill out a sentence or line of verse.ORIGIN: late Middle English (as an adjective): from late Latin expletivus, from explere ‘fill out,’ from ex- ‘out’ + plere ‘fill.’ The general noun sense ‘word used merely to fill out a sentence’ (early 17th cent.) was applied specifically to an oath or swear word in the early 19th cent.

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