Anatoly wrote:
Why English 'blow' has the meaning 'explode'
beside 'the motion of the air'?
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Strangely enough the answer is staring us in our
face:
It is a calque (or loan translation).
Here is how to explain it:
In Classical Latin, explosio /
explodo meant clapping the hands loudly (as a sign
of rejection) action de rejeter en
battant des mains (bruyamment.)
In English a "blow" was used in a similar fashion: a
firm stroke, or a violent application of the fist or any instrument to
an object. Hence the expression exchanging blows.
In French,
"explosion": action d'éclater avec force,
translated in English as: a violent blow up.
Ishinan