blown-up

the compound adjective 'blown-up' is a modern formation derived from the phrasal verb 'to blow up', which has been in use since the 16th century. the verb 'blow' in this context evolved from its old english sense of 'to move air' to specifically mean 'to cause to explode' or 'to inflate' by the late 17th century. the particle 'up' intensifies the action, signifying completion or a resultant state. thus, 'blown-up' literally describes something that has undergone the action of 'blowing up', leading to its contemporary meanings of being destroyed by explosion or, more figuratively, enlarged like an inflated object.

Structure: blown (past participle of blow) + up (adverb/particle) "blown" originates from old english 'blāwan' (to blow, breathe, inflate), of germanic origin. in this compound, it functions as the past participle of the verb 'blow'. "up" originates from old english 'up(p)', of germanic origin, related to dutch 'op' and german 'auf'. it functions as an adverbial particle indicating an increase, completion, or direction.