Etymology From Middle English extente, from Anglo-Norman extente and Old French estente (“valuation of land, stretch of land”), from estendre, extendre (“extend”) (or from Latin extentus), from Latin extendere (See extend.)
1
A range of values or locations.
2
The space, area, volume, point, or abstract location, to which something extends.
I'm a thoroughgoing pragmatist to the fullest extent of the word.
The extent of his knowledge of the language is a few scattered words.
3 more examples
But when they came where that dead Dragon lay, / Stretcht on the ground in monstrous large extent1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I, Canto XII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:
The surface of the Balaton and the surrounding marshes is not less than 24 German square miles, or 384 English square miles; its principal feeder is the Szala, but all the water it receives appears inconsiderable relatively to its superficial extent, and the quantity lost in evaporation.1827, Conrad Malte-Brun, Universal Geography, or A Description of All the Parts of the World, on a New Plan, Edinburgh: Adam Black, volume 6, book 101, 285:
[S]he [Edwina, mother of Tennessee Williams] was indeed Amanda [Wingfield, character in Williams' play The Glass Menagerie] in the flesh: a doughty chatterbox from Ohio who adopted the manner of a Southern belle and eschewed both drink and sex to the greatest extent possible.2014 November 14, Blake Bailey, “'Tennessee Williams,' by John Lahr [print version: Theatrical victory of art over life, International New York Times, 18 November 2014, p. 13]”, in The New York Times:
3
Computing, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Sciences A contiguous area of storage in a file system.
Each extent contains one or more contiguous clusters. The file system describes each extent with two numbers: the number of the first cluster in the extent, and the number of clusters in the extent.2019, Richard E. Smith, Elementary Information Security, page 205:
4
The valuation of property.
5
Law A writ directing the sheriff to seize the property of a debtor, for the recovery of debts of record due to the Crown.
Well, push him out of doors; And let my officers of such a nature Make an extent upon his house and lands. Do this expediently, and turn him going.c. 1598–1600 (date written), William Shakespeare, “As You Like It”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i], lines 1117-20:
Etymology From Middle English extente, from Anglo-Norman extente and Old French estente (“valuation of land, stretch of land”), from estendre, extendre (“extend”) (or from Latin extentus), from Latin extendere (See extend.)
But both his Hands, most filthy feculent, Above the Water were on high extent,1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto VII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC: