blow English · revision 4308

+ English has three words spelled ''blow'': the verb “to move air”, from Old English blāwan; an archaic verb “to bloom”, from Old English blōwan; and the noun “a hard hit”, of uncertain origin.^(Hoad 1986)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /bləʊ/, US /bloʊ/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ {{homograph|1|move air}}

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+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 725|origins=ine-pro *bʰleh₁-}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|blowen]], blawen (1127),^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) [[inh|ang|blāwan|t=to blow, breathe; kindle; inflate; sound a wind instrument]], a strong verb with past tense blēow and past participle blāwen,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from [[gem-pro|*blēaną|alt=*blæ-anan]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) also the source of Old High German blāen and German blähen “to blow up, swell”.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(NODE 1998) According to Watkins it is from [[ine-pro|*bʰleh₁-|alt=*bhle-|t=to blow]],^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) the root also of Latin [[m|la|flāre|t=to blow]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998) Merriam-Webster Unabridged gives its basic meaning as “to swell”.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Of the wind, “to move, produce a current of air”, and of breath from the mouth: about 1000 in the OED,^(OED 1989) about 725 in Barnhart, who notes that all other senses developed after the Old English period.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ “To carry by a current of air” is from about 1300,^(Etymonline) to make a hissing or whistling sound from 1340,^(OED 1989) and “to inflate” from the late 14th century,^(Etymonline) as is ''blow out'', to put out a candle.^(Etymonline) To pant or puff is from about 1440.^(OED 1989) ''Blow hot and cold'', to keep changing one's mind, is from 1577 in the OED,^(OED 1989) the 1570s in Etymonline, and comes from Aesop's fable of a man who blew on his hands to warm them and on his porridge to cool it.^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) ''Blow over'', of storms, is from the 1610s,^(Etymonline) and of nose-blowing from the 1530s.^(Etymonline) Of whales spouting it is from 1725.^(OED 1989) ''Blow off steam'', from steam engines, is from 1837.^(Etymonline) “To squander money” is from 1874,^(Etymonline) of fuses from 1902,^(Etymonline) “to depart suddenly” from 1902,^(Etymonline) and “to bungle” an opportunity from 1943.^(Etymonline) As an exclamation, associated with sailors, it is from 1781, with the past participle blowed.^(Etymonline) ''Blow one's mind'' is from 1967.^(Etymonline) The noun, a blast of wind, is from the late 15th century,^(SOED 2002) and a boast from Merriam-Webster.^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 725 – Old English blāwan.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1300 – to carry by wind.^(Etymonline)

+ * late 14th century – to inflate, and ''blow out''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1577 – ''blow hot and cold''.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1610s – ''blow over''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1725 – of whales.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1781 – as an exclamation.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1837 – ''blow off steam''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1874 – to squander.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1902 – of fuses; to leave suddenly.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1943 – to bungle.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1967 – ''blow one's mind''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # Of air or [[wind]], to be in motion.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To be carried or moved by the wind.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To force out a current of air, as from the mouth.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To sound (a wind instrument or a whistle) by forcing air through it.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To shape (glass) by forcing air into it.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To burst or melt, as a [[fuse]] or a tyre.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''(informal)'' To spend (money) freely; to [[squander]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''(informal)'' To spoil by a mistake: ''blew his chance''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''(informal)'' To leave hurriedly.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A blast of air or wind; a [[gale]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # An act of blowing.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[blower]]

+ * [[blowpipe]]

+ * [[blowtorch]]

+ * [[blow-dry]]

+ * [[blowout]]

+ * [[blowhole]]

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+ {{homograph|2|bloom}}

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+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1000|origins=ine-pro *bʰel-}}

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+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|blowen]], [[inh|ang|blōwan|t=to flower, blossom, flourish]],^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) from Proto-Germanic *blō-,^(Hoad 1986)^(Etymonline) also the source of Old Saxon blōjan, Dutch bloeien and German blühen,^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from [[ine-pro|*bʰel-|alt=*bhel-|t=to thrive, bloom]],^(Etymonline) the root also of Latin flōs “flower” and florēre “to bloom”.^(MWU 2024) It is related to [[bloom]], [[blossom]] and [[blade]].^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ “To burst into flower, blossom”: about 1000 in the OED.^(OED 1989)

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+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The figurative “to flourish, attain perfection” is from 1610,^(OED 1989) about 1600 in Etymonline.^(Etymonline) The past participle survives in ''full-blown''.^(Etymonline) The noun, a display of blossoms, is from the early 18th century, and blossoming from the mid-18th, now archaic.^(SOED 2002) In Scotland and England a blow was still a bud or blossom in dialect.^(Wright 1898)

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+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1000 – to blossom.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1610 – to flourish.^(OED 1989)

+ * early 18th century – noun, a display of blossoms.^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # ''(archaic)'' To [[bloom]] or blossom.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(archaic)'' A mass of blossoms, or the state of blooming.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[full-blown]]

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+ {{homograph|3|hit}}

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+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|formation=inherited|attested=mid-15th century}}

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+ ==Etymology==

+ Its origin is uncertain.^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998) It is first found in northern and East Midland dialects, as blaw and blowe,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) perhaps from Middle Dutch blouwen “to beat”,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) or from an unrecorded Old English word related to Old High German bliuwan, German bleuen and Gothic bliggwan “to strike”.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) It was influenced by the verb “to move air”,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) and Word Origins treats it as developed from a blast of wind.^(Cresswell 2021) The usual Old English word for striking was slēan, the source of [[slay]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A hard hit with the fist or a weapon: the mid-15th century,^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) before 1500 in Barnhart, with the northern blaw “a blast of wind” before 1460.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ ''Fall to blows'' is from the 1590s and ''come to blows'' from the 1650s.^(Etymonline) The figurative sense of a sudden shock or calamity is from the 1670s.^(Etymonline) ''Blow-by-blow'', of a detailed account, is from 1921 in American English, first of radio commentaries on prize fights.^(Etymonline) ''At one blow'' means at a single stroke.^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * mid-15th century – a hard hit.^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)

+ * 1590s – ''fall to blows''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1650s – ''come to blows''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1670s – a sudden shock.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1921 – ''blow-by-blow''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A hard stroke with the hand, a [[weapon]] or an implement.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A sudden [[shock]] or misfortune.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A sudden attack or effort.^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[blow-by-blow]]

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+ ==Related words==

+ * [[insufflate]]

+ * [[bloom]]

+ * [[blossom]]

+ * [[flatulent]]

+ * [[inflate]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}