ikˈspēdēənsē, ek-, -si noun
or ex·pe·di·ence -n(t)s
( plural expediencies or expediences )
Etymology: expediency from Late Latin expedientia advantage, from Latin expedient-, expediens + -ia -y; expedience from Middle English, advantage, from Late Latin expedientia
1. obsolete : haste , dispatch
three thousand men of war are making hither with all due expedience — Shakespeare
2. obsolete : enterprise , expedition
let me hear … what yesternight our council did decree in forwarding this dear expedience — Shakespeare
3. : the quality or state of being suited to the end in view : fitness , suitability
the whip of shame and pain could drive her … into an appreciation of the expediency of morality — Margaret Deland
4. : cultivation of or adherence to means and methods that are opportune or temporarily advantageous as distinguished from those that are right or just ; specifically : self-interest
the struggle between ethics and politics, between right and expediency , had begun — C.W.De Kiewiet
5. : a means of achieving a particular end : expedient
had found a number of simple expediencies by which to dissolve what was once the most solemn contract of all — Hamilton Basso