ballooning
UK[bəˈluːnɪŋ]US[bəˈluːnɪŋ]
n
the sport or activity of flying in a hot-air balloon.
n
a rapid and large increase in amount, size, or extent.
Morpheme Breakdown
balloon
ing
balloon
inflated bag
ing
noun-forming suffix
Etymology
the word 'ballooning' is built upon 'balloon', which entered english in the late 16th century from italian 'ballone', meaning "large ball". this italian term is a derivative of 'balla' (ball), a word of germanic origin, likely related to old high german 'balla' or old norse 'bǫllr'. the suffix '-ing', of old english provenance, is added to form a noun indicating the action or practice associated with the verb 'to balloon'. thus, the term's literal logic progresses from the concept of a "large ball" to the act of operating or traveling in an inflatable, spherical craft, and by semantic extension, to any process that swells or expands rapidly.
Analysis
Structure: balloon (inflated bag) + ing (noun-forming suffix)
balloon: from italian ballone, meaning "large ball", from balla (ball), of germanic origin. functions as the core root denoting an inflatable object.
ing: from old english -ung, -ing, a suffix forming nouns from verbs, indicating an action, process, or result.
Examples
they went ballooning over the serengeti at dawn.
the ballooning costs of the project forced a budget review.
his interest in ballooning began after reading about historic flights.