Bubbles Part II

As we discovered last week, you can be ebullient and exuberant in your effervescence. And exuberance is defined as effusive enthusiasm, what does effusive mean? And if being effervescent is another way of saying you’re bubbly and vivacious, what does vivacious mean?

Effusive is perhaps the most negative of the words in this bubbly exposition. It means unduly demonstrative, in a way that shows a lack of reserve. It is still a boiling over, but beyond the bounds of normalcy. It came to English in the 1660s (the decade after effervescence) as the adjective form of the noun effusion, which is the first form of the word to come to English, in about 1400. Effusion means pouring out (literally) or outpouring (figuratively).  The Middle French also had the word effusion, and got it from the Latin word effusionem, which means pouring forth, or spreading abroad. Effusion was not used of speech or emotion until the 1650s, after which the quick, decade later development of an adjective form was useful. It has developed a negative connotation of being unduly demonstrative, as we have perhaps become more restrained in our language usage.

Vivacious is somewhat less descriptive of language than of personality or action. It means lively and 

animated, and came to English a decade before effusion (in the 1640s). It came directly from Latin (no detour through France as have the other words in these two successive blog posts on bubbles.) The Latin word is vivax, the genitive of which is vivacis. Once again, the noun form (vivacity) preceded the adjective form in coming to English. Vivacity entered the language in the early 15^th century, from the Latin nominative form of vivacis, vivacitas. What did these words vivax, vivacis, and vivacitas refer to? A vital force, a liveliness. These Latin words were formed from the word vivere,, which means “to live”. We get the word vital from the same root word.

By the way, bubbles are defined almost spherical bodies of gas wrapped in a liquid. I know bubbles can be of something besides gas, but most bubbles are gas, so the aforementioned definition of effervescence should not include “bubbles of gas”; “bubbles of…” should only be used when the bubbles are of something other than gas. The word bubble came to English in the early 14^th century as a noun, and wasn’t used as a verb for over 100 years. It may have come from the Middle Dutch noun bobble or the Middle Low German verb bubbeln or both. Since it was originally used in English as a noun I vote for the Middle Dutch (something I’ve never done before.) And for those who enjoy them, the words bubble and bath were not recorded in tandem (as in "bubble bath" in case you're not tracking) until the year of my older brother’s birth – 1949.

So quit reading and enjoy the effervescence of a bubble bath. It will help you be ebullient today, maybe even exuberant if not vivacous. Just don’t be effusive.