WordWeight : Weighing the Words

Pronunciation : Ex*pense"
Part of Speech : n.
Etymology : [L. expensa (sc. pecunia), or expensum, fr. expensus, p. p. of expendere. See Expend.]
Definition : 1. A spending or consuming; disbursement; expenditure. Husband nature's riches from expense. Shak.

2. That which is expended, laid out, or consumed; cost; outlay; charge; -- sometimes with the notion of loss or damage to those on whom the expense falls; as, the expenses of war; an expense of time. Courting popularity at his party's expense. Brougham.

3. Loss. [Obs.] Shak. And moan the expense of many a vanished sight. Spenser. Expense magazine (Mil.), a small magazine containing ammunition for immediate use. H. L. Scott.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913