I am sure that you know what bombast means: grandiloquent or pretentious language; an inflated style; pompous language inappropriate for the occasion. It is more often used in its adjectival or adverbial form bombastic.

It has held a similar meaning at least since Shakespeare described Falstaff as the sweet creature of bombast in Henry IV.

But do you know how the word originated? It comes directly from medieval latin bombax via the old French bambace meaning cotton padding. These in turn came from Greek pambax and the Persian pambak words for cotton.

Hence bombast has evolved from cotton, to stuffing and padding for clothes or upholstery, to an abstract meaning of padded and inflated language.

Madrigal Communications advises you to avoid bombastic language in your publications: instead prefer plain English.