I. ikˈspōnənt, ekˈs-, ˈekˌs- adjective
Etymology: Latin exponent-, exponens, present participle of exponere to explain, expound, set forth — more at expound
: giving exemplification : explaining
in his characters we find not so much people who are exponent types of a region as personifications of various human qualities — J.W.Wilson
II. noun
( -s )
1. : a symbol written above and to the right of a symbol, expression, or quantity to indicate a mathematical operation to be performed (as in involution where 2 in a 2 indicates how many times the operand is to be taken as a factor: a×a; or in extraction of a root where 1/3 in a 1/3 indicates a cube root of a: 3√ a )
2.
a. : an expounder or explainer especially of a doctrine
an exponent of profound economic truths — Current Biography
: an interpreter especially of an art
an important exponent of the living Bach as opposed to the dry and pedantic Bach — A.E.Wier
the most controversial figure in the modern dance and … its most successful exponent — Walter Terry
: a representative or practitioner especially of a profession or other activity
a well-known exponent of the science of anthropology — Current Biography
b. : one that champions, advocates, or exemplifies
the best known exponent of this use of free association in verse — C.D.Lewis
a leading exponent of arbitration in labor-management disputes — Current Biography
III. noun
: a specific element of a linguistic category
eat is an exponent of the class “verb”