exponent
/ɪkˈspəʊnənt/noun
1
- a person who believes in and tries to explain and persuade people of the truth or benefits of an idea or theory（思想、理论的）倡导者; 鼓吹者; 拥护者; 解释者：
an early exponent of the teachings of Thomas Aquinas.
托马斯·阿奎那教义的早期支持者。
1.1
- a person who has and demonstrates a particular skill, especially to a high standard代表人物：
he's the world's leading exponent of country rock guitar.
他是世界乡村摇滚吉他的主要代表人物。
2
- Mathematics a quantity representing the power to which a given number or expression is to be raised, usually expressed as a raised symbol beside the number or expression (e.g. 3 in 23=2×2×2)【数】指数。
3
- Linguistics a linguistic unit that realizes another, more abstract unit【语言学】成分。
词源
late 16th cent. （as an adjective in the sense 'expounding'）： from Latin exponent- 'putting out', from the verb exponere （see EXPOUND）.