ebullient

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɪˈbʊliənt/, /ɪˈbʌliənt/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin ēbulliēns (“boiling up”), present participle of Latin ēbulliō (“to boil over, bubble out”),^[2][3][4][5] from Latin ē- (“out”) + bulliō (“to bubble, boil”).^[2][3][4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Boiling, or agitated as if boiling (1599).^[6][4][3]

Semantic evolution

Early medical writers used it of bodily humours, drugs and diseases that caused heat and agitation (1620).^[6] The figurative sense, of feelings or energy bubbling over with enthusiasm, is recorded in 1664,^[6][4][5] and it is now the usual one.^[2][3][7] The noun ebullience was formed in 1749.^[4]

Timeline

• 1599 – boiling, agitated.^[6][4][3]
• 1620 – of drugs and diseases, causing heat and agitation.^[6]
• 1664 – overflowing with enthusiasm.^[6][4]
• 1749 – ebullience.^[4]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Overflowing with enthusiasm and high spirits.
2. Boiling or bubbling up.

Word family

• ebulliently

Related words

• ebullience
• ebullition
• boil
• bullion

References

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