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bombast

Etymology and origin of the English word bombast

History

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈbɒmbæst/ (UK); /ˈbɑmbæst/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is an alteration of obsolete bombace “raw cotton, cotton padding”,[2][3][4] borrowed from Old French bombace (“cotton, cotton wadding”),[3][4][5] from Medieval Latin bombax (“cotton”),[5][4][6] itself an alteration of Latin bombyx (“silk, silkworm”),[5][3] from Ancient Greek βόμβυξ (bómbux).[5][3] Barnhart suggests the final -t came from bombast, the past participle of an obsolete verb bombase “to stuff with cotton”.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Raw cotton, and cotton wool used to pad clothes (1568–1572).[7][3]

Semantic evolution

From padding that swelled out a garment, the word was transferred to padded, inflated language with little substance (1589).[7][3][4] The verb to bombast “to render grandiose” was already in use by 1573,[7][4] and the adjective bombastic followed in 1704, after earlier bombastical (1649).[4] The literal sense is now obsolete.[6]

Timeline

  • 1568 – raw cotton, cotton wool (obsolete).[7]
  • 1572 – cotton used as padding for clothes.[7][3]
  • 1573 – verb, to make a speech grandiose with inflated words.[7][4]
  • 1589 – inflated, high-sounding language.[7][4]
  • 1704 – the adjective bombastic.[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. Pompous, high-flown speech or writing out of proportion to its subject.
  2. (obsolete) Cotton or other material used to pad clothes.

Word family

  • bombaster
  • bombastic
  • bombastically
  • bombazine
  • fustian

Usage notes

Of its near synonyms, bombast stresses inflated style, rant violent and turgid speech, fustian a pretentious style around absurd or commonplace content, claptrap insincere, empty talk, and rodomontade boastful bluster.[2]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  5. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Bombast.” Etymologically, 10 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/bombast. Accessed 10 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on .