fulminate

 
Pronunciation: /ˈfʊlmɪneɪt, ˈfʌl-/

verb

[no object]
  • 1express vehement protest: all fulminated against the new curriculum
  • 2 literary explode violently or flash like lightning: thunder fulminated around the house
  • 3 (usually as adjective fulminating) Medicine (of a disease or symptom) develop suddenly and severely: fulminating appendicitis

noun

Chemistry
  • a salt or ester of fulminic acid.

Origin:

late Middle English: from Latin fulminat- 'struck by lightning', from fulmen, fulmin- 'lightning'. The earliest sense (derived from medieval Latin fulminare) was 'denounce formally', later 'issue formal censures' (originally said of the Pope). A sense 'emit thunder and lightning', based on the original Latin meaning, arose in the early 17th century, and hence 'explode violently' (late 17th century)