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ebullio

Etymology and origin of the Latin word ebullio

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
Cicero
Ultimate origin
Latin (bulla)

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [eːˈbʊl.li.oː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [eˈbul.li.o][1]

Forms

ēbulliō (present infinitive ēbullīre, perfect active ēbullīvī or ēbulliī, supine ēbullītum); fourth conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is from ex- “out” and bulliō “to bubble”, from bulla “bubble”.[2][1][3][4] A post-classical ⟨ēbullō⟩ of the first conjugation is also found.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citation is from Cicero, of chattering about something.[2] Köbler dates Cicero 81–43 BC.[6]

Semantic evolution

Transitively, in Cicero, it meant to spout out, chatter about, and colloquially animam ēbullīre to give up the ghost, as in Seneca and Petronius.[2][3] In Apuleius of laughter it meant to burst out, and in Tertullian to boil up, bubble up.[2][7][5]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant to bubble, break forth, send out.[8] British Medieval Latin used it of water boiling or bubbling up.[9] It survives in Italian ebollire, and its present participle gave English ebullient in the 1590s, first “boiling”.[1][4]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of chattering.[2][6]
  • 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca uses animam ēbullīre.[2][6]
  • c. 125–175 AD – Apuleius uses it of laughter bursting out.[2][6]
  • 1590s – English ebullient is recorded.[4]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To spout out; to chatter about.[2]
  2. animam ēbullīre, to give up the ghost.[2]
  3. To burst out; to bubble up.[2][5]

Word family

  • ēbullītiō

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  7. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  8. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  9. ^ Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
Cite this entry

“Ebullio.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/ebullio. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·