Etymology Perhaps from Middle English blot, blout (“soft; flexible; pliable”), from Old Norse blautr (“soft”). Akin to Danish blød, Dutch bloot (“nude”) and German bloß (“nude”).
To fill soft substance with gas, water, etc.; to cause to swell.
4
To become distended; to swell up.
if a Person of a firm Conſtitution begins to bloat, and from being warm grows cold, his Fibres grow weak, Anxiety and Palpitations of the Heart are a ſign of weak Fibres1731, John Arbuthnot, An Essay Concerning the Nature of Aliments, and the Choice of Them, According to the Different Constitutions of Human Bodies. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson […], →OCLC:
5
To fill with vanity or conceit.
1675, John Dryden, Prologue to Circe by Dr. Davenant Encourage him, and bloat him up with Praise
6
Dated To preserve by slightly salting and lightly smoking.
bloated herring
7
To increase to an excessive amount.
In the UK, the fraction of electricity generated by nuclear plants has slid steadily downwards, from 25% in the 1990s to 16% in 2020. Of the five nuclear stations still producing power, only one will run beyond 2028. Hinkley Point C, the first new nuclear plant in a generation, is being built in Somerset, but its cost has bloated to more than £25bn.December 15 2022, Samanth Subramanian, “Dismantling Sellafield: the epic task of shutting down a nuclear site”, in The Guardian:
bloat
noun
Etymology Perhaps from Middle English blot, blout (“soft; flexible; pliable”), from Old Norse blautr (“soft”). Akin to Danish blød, Dutch bloot (“nude”) and German bloß (“nude”).
A group of hippos is called a bloat.2019 June 6, “A gaggle, a confusion and a conspiracy - bizarre animal collective group names”, in BBC:
bloat
adj
Etymology Perhaps from Middle English blot, blout (“soft; flexible; pliable”), from Old Norse blautr (“soft”). Akin to Danish blød, Dutch bloot (“nude”) and German bloß (“nude”).