Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “bombast” come from?

Bombast comes from Old French bombace, from Late Latin bombax, from Latin bombyx, from Ancient Greek βόμβυξ, originally meaning silk or silkworm.

bombast (English): Cotton, or cotton wool; Cotton, or any soft,...

Definitions

  1. Cotton, or cotton wool; Cotton, or any soft,...

Ancestry of “bombast”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englishbombase—
2Old Frenchbombacecotton, cotton wadding
3Latinbombaxindeed! strange!
4Latinbombyxsilkworm
5Ancient Greekβόμβυξsilkworm; garment made of silk; deeptoned flute

Words derived from “bombast”

  • bombastic
  • bombastically
  • bombastical
  • bombastry
  • unbombastic
  • nonbombastic
  • bombástico
  • bombástico
Every word from Ancient Greek βόμβυξ →