Advertisement

Origin and history of implosion

implosion(n.)

"a bursting inward, a sudden collapse," 1829, modeled on explosion, with assimilated form of in- (2) "into, in, on, upon" (from PIE root *en "in").

And to show how entire the neglect and confusion have been, they speak in the same breath of all these explosions, and of the explosion of a mixture of hydrogen and oxygen, the result of which, instead of being a gas or an enlargement of bulk, a positive quantity, is a negative one. It is a vacuum, in a popular sense, because the produce is water. The result is an implosion (to coin a word), not an explosion .... ["Gas-light," Westminster Review, October 1829]

In early use often in reference to effect of deep sea pressures, or in phonetics. Figurative sense is by 1960.

also from 1829

Entries linking to implosion

explosion(n.)

1620s, "action of driving out with violence and noise," from French explosion, from Latin explosionem (nominative explosio) "a driving off by clapping," noun of action from past participle stem of explodere "drive out by clapping" (see explode for origin and sense evolution). Meaning "a going off with violence and noise" is from 1660s. Sense of "a rapid increase or development" is first attested 1953.

implode(v.)

1870 (implied in imploded), originally of consonants, a back-formation from implosion. In the sense of "collapse violently inward due to deep-sea pressure" (originally in reference to thermometer bulbs), it is attested by 1881. Related: Imploding.

Advertisement

More to explore

post
"a timber of considerable size set upright," from Old English post "pillar, doorpost," and from Old French post "post, upright beam," both from Latin postis "door, post, doorpost," in Medieval Latin "a beam, rod, pole," which is perhaps from Vulgar Latin *por- "forth," a variant
spot
c. 1200, "moral stain;" by mid-14c. as "speck, stain left by something on a surface;" probably at least in part from a variant of Old English splott "a spot, blot, patch (of land)," and partly from or related to Middle Dutch spotte "spot, speck." Other cognates are East Frisian s
stop
Middle English stoppen, "obstruct (a passage) with a physical barrier; close up by filling, stuffing, or plugging," from Old English -stoppian (in forstoppian "to stop up, stifle"), a general West Germanic word, cognate with Old Saxon stuppon, West Frisian stopje, Middle Low Germ
closure
late 14c., "a barrier, a fence," from Old French closure "enclosure; that which encloses, fastening, hedge, wall, fence," also closture "barrier, division; enclosure, hedge, fence, wall" (12c., Modern French clôture), from Late Latin clausura "lock, fortress, a closing" (source o
collapse
1732, "fall together, fall into an irregular mass through loss of support or rigidity," from Latin collapsus, past participle of collabi "fall together," from assimilated form of com "with, together" (see com-) + labi "to fall, slip" (see lapse (n.)). Figurative sense of "come to
profound
c. 1300, "characterized by intellectual depth, very learned," from Old French profont, profund (12c., Modern French profond) and directly from Latin profundus "deep, bottomless, vast," also "obscure; profound; immoderate," from pro "forth" (from PIE root *per- (1) "forward") + fu
vaccination
1800, used by British physician Edward Jenner (1749-1823) for the technique he publicized of preventing smallpox by injecting people with the similar but much milder cowpox virus (variolae vaccinae), from vaccine (adj.) "pertaining to cows, from cows" (1798), from Latin vaccinus
knockoff
also knock-off, "cheap imitation," 1966, from the verbal phrase knock off "do hastily" (1817), in reference to the casual way the things are made. The verbal phrase knock off is attested from 1640s as "desist, stop" (work, study, etc.), hence knockoff (n.) "act of leaving work" (
helpmeet
also help-meet, a ghost word from the 1611 "King James" translation of the Bible, in which it was at first a two-word noun-adjective phrase translating Latin adjutorium simile sibi [Genesis ii.18] as "an help meet for him," and meaning literally "a helper like himself."  Rob
evangelist
late 12c., "Matthew, Mark, Luke or John," from Old French evangelist and directly from Late Latin evangelista, from Greek euangelistes "preacher of the gospel," literally "bringer of good news," from euangelizesthai "bring good news," from eu- "good" (see eu-) + angellein "announ

Share implosion

Advertisement
Trending
Dictionary entries near implosion
Advertisement