Ebullient
/ɪˈbʊl.i.ənt/noun
Bubbling over with enthusiasm or high spirits.
Did you know?Its Latin ancestor comes from the verb *ebullīre*, “to boil out,” built from *ex-* (“out”) + *bullīre* (“to bubble/boil”), so the emotion was imagined as something physically erupting from within.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*bhel-
“to swell, bubble, or blow up”
Latin
Latin
bullīre
“to bubble, boil”
Late Latin
Latin
ebullīre
“to boil out, bubble forth”
Middle French
French
ébullient
“boiling, bubbling over”
17th Century
English
ebullient
“boiling up; later, overflowing with lively enthusiasm”
Modern English
English
ebullient
“cheerful and full of energy”
Explore more surprising origins