Etymograph

English

blowing

Blowing comes from Middle English blowynge ‘Breathing, respiration’, and goes back to Old English blāwung.

  1. Old Englishc. 450–1150blāwung1
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500blowynge1‘Breathing, respiration’
  3. Englishearliest quotation 2014blowing1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English blowing
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2014, Charlotte MacLeod: “[…] the tea had been poured from the cups…”.

Lineage

  1. Old Englishc. 450–1150blāwungWiktionary, English blowing
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500blowyngeWiktionary, English blowing‘Breathing, respiration’
  3. Englishearliest quotation 2014blowingWiktionary, English blowing. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2014, Charlotte MacLeod: “[…] the tea had been poured from the cups…”

Formed from blow + -ing

Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- ‘to blow’

…

Proto-Germanic *blēaną ‘to blow’

Proto-West Germanic *blāan ‘to blow’

Old English blāwan ‘to blow, breathe’

Middle English blowen ‘to blow’

English blow

Every English word from Old English blāwung

Today it means

noun The act of one who blows, or that which blows.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “blowing”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Old English blāwung / blowing

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