burst

Pronunciation

• IPA: /bɜːst/ (UK); /bɝst/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English bersten, bresten, inherited from Old English berstan (“to break suddenly, shatter”),^[2][3][4][5] a West Germanic metathesis of Proto-Germanic *brestaną, source also of Old Saxon and Old High German brestan, Dutch barsten and German bersten,^[3][2] with Old Norse bresta.^[4] Hoad compares Old Irish brissim, I break.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

To break suddenly under pressure: about 725, in Beowulf, in Barnhart; before 1000 in the OED.^[2][6]

Semantic evolution

In Old English it was said chiefly of things breaking with a loud noise, as cords snapping or spears shivering.^[3] The forms returned to brest- in Middle English under Old Norse influence, but were metathesized again in the late 16th century; brast was a common past tense through the 17th century and survives in dialect.^[3][4] Of boils, to break and discharge, is from about 1000.^[6] The noun, a sudden issuing forth, is from the 1610s,^[3] and a spurt of activity from 1862.^[3] Earlier Middle English berst meant damage or injury.^[3]

Timeline

• c. 725 – to break suddenly.^[2]
• c. 1000 – of a boil.^[6]
• late 16th century – the modern form burst.^[3]
• 1610s – the noun.^[3]
• 1862 – a spurt of activity.^[3]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To break suddenly and violently apart, as from pressure inside.
2. To be very full, as if about to break: bursting with pride.
3. To move or appear suddenly and forcefully: burst into the room.
4. To begin suddenly to do something: burst into tears.

Noun

1. An instance of breaking or splitting.
2. A sudden brief outbreak: a burst of applause.

Word family

• burster
• unburst
• airburst
• cloudburst
• downburst
• upburst
• groundburst
• microburst

Related words

• bust
• outburst

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d 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 Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press