# bombast

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈbɒmbæst/ · frequency rank #68,887

## Definitions
1. Cotton, or cotton wool.
2. Cotton, or any soft, fibrous material, used as stuffing for garments; stuffing, padding.
3. High-sounding words; language above the dignity of the occasion; a pompous or ostentatious manner of writing or speaking.

## Etymology
From Old French bombace (“cotton, cotton wadding”), from Late Latin bombax (“cotton”), a variant of bombyx (“silkworm”), from Ancient Greek βόμβυξ (bómbux, “silkworm”), possibly related to Middle Persian pmbk' (“cotton”), from a Proto-Indo-European root meaning “to twist, wind”.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/bombast