Etymologically
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ebullient

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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
  • 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