bombast
Use Bombast in a sentence
bæst noun
1.
speech too pompous for an occasion; pretentious words.
2.
Obsolete. cotton or other material used to stuff garments; padding.
adjective
3.
Obsolete, bombastic.
Origin:
1560–70; earlier bombace padding < Middle French < Medieval Latin bombācem, accusative of bombāx; see bombax family
1560–70; earlier bombace padding < Middle French < Medieval Latin bombācem, accusative of bombāx; see bombax family
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To bombast
Collins
World English Dictionary
bombast (ˈbɒmbæst) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | pompous and grandiloquent language |
| 2. | obsolete material used for padding |
| [C16: from Old French bombace, from Medieval Latin bombāx cotton; see | |
| bom'bastic | |
| —adj | |
| bom'bastically | |
| —adv | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
00:10
Bombast
is an SAT word you need to know.
So is hoodwink. Does it mean:
| to come into possession or ownership of; get as one's own: |
| to deceive or trick. |
Dictionary.com's 21st Century Lexicon
| Main Entry: | bombast1 |
| Part of Speech: | n |
| Definition: | inflated language or speech |
| Etymology: | Old French bombace 'cotton wadding' |
| Main Entry: | bombast1 |
| Part of Speech: | v |
| Definition: | to inflate one's speech |
| Etymology: | Old French bombace 'cotton wadding' |
| Main Entry: | bombast2 |
| Part of Speech: | n |
| Definition: | stuffing or padding, esp. of cotton |
| Etymology: | Old French bombace 'cotton wadding' |
| Main Entry: | bombast2 |
| Part of Speech: | v |
| Definition: | to stuff or pad |
| Etymology: | Old French bombace 'cotton wadding' |
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
bombast
1560s, "cotton padding," corrupted from earlier bombace (1550s), from O.Fr. bombace "cotton, cotton wadding," from L.L. bombacem, acc. of bombax "cotton, 'linteorum aut aliae quaevis quisquiliae,' " a corruption and transferred use of L. bombyx "silk," from Gk. bombyx "silk, silkworm" (which also came
to mean "cotton" in Medieval Gk.), from some oriental word, perhaps related to Iranian pambak (modern panba) or Armenian bambok, perhaps ultimately from a PIE root meaning "to twist, wind." From stuffing and padding for clothes or upholstery, meaning extended to "pompous, empty speech" (1580s). Also from the same source are Swed. bomull, Dan. bomuld "cotton," and, via Turkish forms, Mod.Gk. mpampaki, Romanian bumbac, Serbo-Cr. pamuk. Ger. baumwolle "cotton" is probably from the Latin word but altered by folk-etymology to look like "tree wool." Pol. bawelna, Lith. bovelna are partial translations from German.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
Along with the bombast was some truly original and prescient thinking.
Ultimately, all the philosophical bombast is outweighed by generous helpings of mind-blown comedy.
Outsiders face a mix of bombast about these new business lines and wobbliness.
Good, balanced coverage,admirably free of prolixity and bombast.
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