blown-out

The compound adjective 'blown-out' is a relatively modern formation, built from the core Germanic verbs 'blow' and 'out'. Its literal sense derives from the action of a tyre or object being inflated ('blown') to the point of rupture or exhaustion ('out'). This concrete imagery of forceful expansion followed by depletion or termination was then semantically extended. By the mid-20th century, it began describing extinguished flames and, metaphorically, a state of human exhaustion. The sense of an extravagantly large event emerged later, playing on the idea of something being expanded or 'puffed up' beyond ordinary scale, akin to over-inflation.

Structure: blown (past participle of 'blow') + out (adverb/particle) - blown: From Old English blāwan (to blow, breathe, inflate), of Germanic origin. In this compound, it functions as the past participle of the verb 'blow'. - out: From Old English ūt (out, outside, forth), of Germanic origin. In this compound, it functions as an adverbial particle indicating a state of being expended, extinguished, or expanded beyond normal limits.