Explosive Applause
The base -plod-/-plos- helps to form some interesting words. Both forms are derived from the Latin verb plaudere, to clap the hands.
• displode [obs] To drive out or discharge with explosive violence: literally, pushing or clapping something away.
• explode [obs] to clap or hoot a player off the stage: literally, to clap out
• implode To burst inwards: literally, to clap or smash in
• supplode [obs. rare] To stamp with the feet: literally, to applaud beneath.
We still use implode and explode, but the clapping sense has long been lost.
That meaning remains more explicitly in the related base -plaud-. Thus, we have applaud (to clap the hands in expression of approbation) and plaudits (praise given when an action is enthusiastically received; directed applause.)
Comments