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overblown

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Etymology and origin of the English word overblown

Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˌəʊ.vəˈbləʊn/[1]
  • US: /ˌoʊ.vɚˈbloʊn/[1]

overblown1 inflated, exaggerated

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1616 Ben Jonson, Epigrammes
Ultimate origin
Old English blāwan

Etymology

The word for "inflated, exaggerated" is formed from English over- + blown, the second part being the past participle of blow "to move air",[2][3][4] from Old English blāwan.[4][2] The Shorter Oxford, Etymonline and Merriam-Webster Unabridged take it as the past participle of the verb overblow,[3][4][5] which is overblouen (“to blow away, pass away”), recorded from Gower,[6][7] from blouen;[6] the revised OED derives only its metallurgical and musical senses from the verb.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Blown over, passed away, of a wind or storm: late 15th century in Etymonline, late 16th century in the Shorter Oxford.[4][3] The revised OED's first record is 1616, in Ben Jonson's Epigrammes, for "inflated with conceit, overdone".[2]

Semantic evolution

The participle of overblow first described a storm that had blown over;[4][3] Gower had already used overblowe for "blown away, passed away".[7][6] The figurative sense, puffed up with vanity, overdone or exaggerated, and of writing or music overstated and florid, is dated 1616 by the revised OED,[2] but only from 1864 by Etymonline and Merriam-Webster Unabridged, and to the mid 19th century by the Shorter Oxford.[4][5][3] Merriam-Webster Unabridged also records it for a stout, portly body.[5] In the 19th and 20th centuries the word was given technical senses: in metallurgy, of steel given too long a blast in the Bessemer process (1879), and in music, of notes produced by overblowing a wind instrument (1926).[2][3]

Timeline

  • late 15th century – of a storm or wind, blown over, passed away.[4]
  • 1616 – inflated with conceit; overdone, exaggerated.[2]
  • 1879 – in metallurgy, given too long a blast in the Bessemer process.[2][3]
  • 1926 – in music, produced by overblowing.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Made to seem bigger or more important than it is; exaggerated or excessive: Fears of a housing collapse proved overblown.[8][2][5]
  2. Of speech or writing: pompous or bombastic; turgid: an overblown speech full of empty phrases.[8][5][2]
  3. Excessively large or stout in body; portly.[5]
  4. (metallurgy) Of steel: spoiled by too long a blast in the Bessemer process.[2][3]
  5. Of a storm: blown over; passed away.[5][3]

Word family

  • overblownness

overblown2 past full bloom

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1625 Beaumont and Fletcher, The Knight of Malta
Ultimate origin
Old English blōwan

Etymology

The word for a flower past full bloom is formed from English over- + blown,[2][3][5] the second part being the past participle of blow "to blossom",[5][3][4] the verb also seen in full-blown,[4] from Old English blōwan (“to flower, blossom”).[4][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of a flower: more than full-blown, past its best: before 1625, in Beaumont and Fletcher's The Knight of Malta.[2] Merriam-Webster Unabridged dates it to about 1625,[5] and Etymonline to the 1610s.[4]

Semantic evolution

From the flower the word was extended figuratively, usually to a woman or her looks, for beauty that is past its prime.[2][3]

Timeline

  • before 1625 – of a flower, past full bloom; figuratively of a woman's looks.[2][5]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Of a flower: past the stage of full bloom: an overblown peony dropping its petals.[8][5][2]
  2. Figuratively, of a person or her looks: past their best.[2][3]

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 k l m Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
  7. ^ a b Benson, Larry D., Glossarial Concordance to Middle English (Chaucer, Gower), Johns Hopkins University, github.com/jhu-digital-manuscripts/gcme
  8. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
Cite this entry

“Overblown.” Etymologically, 13 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/overblown. Accessed 13 Nov. 2026.

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