exuberance

Etymology

It is borrowed from French exubérance,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from Latin exūberantia (“superabundance”),^[2][3][4] which Etymonline calls Late Latin,^[3] a noun from exūberō (“to be abundant, grow luxuriantly”).^[2][3] The Latin verb is formed from ex- and ūberō (“to be fruitful”),^[2][6][7] from ūber (“fertile”), connected with ūber, udder,^[2][7] which is related to udder.^[6] The French word dates from the 16th century.^[3] The related exuberant is older, from the 15th century.^[6][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Merriam-Webster Unabridged dates the word to 1631, for the quality of being exuberant.^[4] The OED's first record is from 1638, in Rawley's translation of Bacon, for an overflowing amount or superabundance,^[2] and Etymonline gives the 1630s, "an overflowing".^[3] The variant exuberancy is recorded from the 1610s.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The early senses were concrete: a superabundance of something (1638), plenty of good things (1675–1751) and an overflow or luxuriant outgrowth, even an excrescence (1665–1825).^[2][5] Johnson (1755) defined it as "overgrowth; superfluous shoots; useless abundance; luxuriance".^[8] From 1691 it named the quality of being exuberant, abundant productiveness or overflowing fullness; from 1717 it also meant a copious style of expression.^[2] Etymonline notes that in English it is usually figurative, especially of joy and high spirits,^[3] which is the main modern sense.^[4][9] From 1841 it was also used of a single extravagant outburst.^[2]

Timeline

• 1631 – the quality of being exuberant.^[4]
• 1638 – an overflowing amount, a superabundance.^[2][3]
• 1665 – an outgrowth or excrescence (obsolete by 1825).^[2]
• 1675 – an abundance of good things (obsolete by 1751).^[2]
• 1691 – luxuriance of growth; overflowing fullness of joy or health.^[2]
• 1717 – copiousness of expression.^[2]
• 1841 – an extravagance, an excessive outburst.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. The quality of being exuberant; lively, overflowing enthusiasm or high spirits: The children's exuberance filled the house.^[4][9][2]
2. An exuberant act or expression: the exuberances of a proud grandfather.^[4][9][2]
3. An overflowing amount; luxuriance or abundance, as of growth.^[2][5]
4. (obsolete, 1665–1825) A luxuriant outgrowth; an excrescence.^[2][8]

Word family

• overexuberance

Related words

• exuberant
• udder

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
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 e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
8. ^ a b Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
9. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt