blast

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /blɑːst/, US /blæst/^[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English blast, inherited from Old English blǣst (“a blowing, a strong gust of wind”),^[2][3][4] from Proto-Germanic *blēstaz,^[4][2] which also gave Old High German blāst and Old Norse blástr (perhaps the immediate source in Middle English);^[3][4] it is related to Old High German blāsan and German blasen “to blow”,^[3][5] from the PIE root Proto-Indo-European *bhle- (“to blow”),^[2][3] the root of blow.^[3] The verb is Old English blǣstan “to blow, belch forth”.^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A strong gust of wind: about 725 in Barnhart, before 1000 in the OED.^[3][6] The call of a trumpet is probably from before 1200, in Layamon.^[3][6]

Semantic evolution

The verb, to blow, is from before 1300.^[3] From the 16th to the 19th century it often meant to breathe on balefully, to blight or wither;^[2] blasted as a curse grows from this.^[7][8] An explosion is from the 1630s,^[2] and to blow up with explosives from 1758.^[2] The current of air forced into an iron-smelting furnace is from the 1690s, 1697 in the OED, which led to the blast furnace (1706) and in full blast, at full operation, from 1780.^[2][6] About 1600 a blast was the usual word for a smoke of tobacco.^[2] A noisy party or a good time is American slang by 1953.^[2] Blast off is from 1951.^[3]

Timeline

• c. 725 – a gust of wind.^[3]
• before 1200 – the call of a trumpet.^[3]
• before 1300 – to blow.^[3]
• 1630s – an explosion.^[2]
• 1697 – air forced into a furnace.^[6]
• 1758 – to blow up.^[2]
• 1951 – blast off.^[3]
• 1953 – a good time.^[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. An explosion, or the rush of air from one.
2. A strong, sudden gust of wind or air.
3. A loud sound, as of a trumpet or horn.
4. (informal) A very enjoyable time.

Verb

1. To blow up or break apart with explosives.
2. To make a loud noise, as music from a loudspeaker.
3. To criticize fiercely.
4. (blast off) Of a rocket, to take off.

Interjection

1. (British informal) An exclamation of annoyance.

Word family

• blaster
• blasty
• blastment
• blastoff
• counterblast
• windblast
• sandblast

Related words

• blow
• bladder
• blaze

Usage notes

Blast in biology, an immature cell, as in blast cell, is a different word, from Greek blastos “sprout, germ”.^[7][9]

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
9. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press