exposition Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a systematic interpretation or explanation (usually written) of a specific topic
    expounding.
  2. noun a collection of things (goods or works of art etc.) for public display
    expo; exhibition.
  3. noun an account that sets forth the meaning or intent of a writing or discourse
    • we would have understood the play better if there had been some initial exposition of the background
  4. noun (music) the section of a movement (especially in sonata form) where the major musical themes first occur

WordNet

Ex`po*si"tion noun
Etymology
L. expositio, fr. exponere, expositum: cf. F. exposition. See Expound.
Definitions
  1. The act of exposing or laying open; a setting out or displaying to public view.
  2. The act of expounding or of laying open the sense or meaning of an author, or a passage; explanation; interpretation; the sense put upon a passage; a law, or the like, by an interpreter; hence, a work containing explanations or interpretations; a commentary.
    You know the law; your exposition Hath been most sound. Shak.
  3. Situation or position with reference to direction of view or accessibility to influence of sun, wind, etc.; exposure; as, an easterly exposition; an exposition to the sun. Obs. Arbuthnot.
  4. A public exhibition or show, as of industrial and artistic productions; as, the Paris Exposition of 1878. A Gallicism

Webster 1913