When the term explode was first introduced into the English language in the 1530s, it originally meant to “bitterly reject”. In the realm of theater, exploding was used to describe audiences loudly booing bad actors off the stage. However, by around 1650, the definition evolved to signify a “loud and sudden noise”. By 1790, it had taken on the meaning of something detonating with a bang, and eventually became associated with destruction in the late nineteenth century. In Latin, the word was explodere, which is comprised of the prefix ex- meaning “out” (from Proto-Indo-European eghs, also meaning “out”) and the root plaudere meaning “clap”. Interestingly, this root possibly originates from Proto-Indo-European plek (“fold”), and is also the source of words like plausive, plaudit, and applause.
