Etymologically
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burst

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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
  • 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