An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Bombast

by Friedrich Kluge

Bombast, m., borrowed in the 18th cent. from E. bombast, which is not cognate with πομπή, ‘pomp, parade,’ Fr. pompe; its orig. sense is ‘cotton,’ then ‘padding,’ and finally ‘inflated language.’ Its ultimate source is Lat. bombyx; comp. the preceding word.