the.com/blow

means A versatile word covering a hard hit or impact, a strong gust of wind or the act of expelling air, and—informally—a failure or disappointment, plus a slang verb for squandering money or time.

from From Old English, and actually from two separate ancestors that collided into one spelling. The 'hit/strike' sense traces to Middle English 'blaw/blowe,' possibly related to words meaning to strike or beat. The 'wind/breath' sense comes from Old English 'blawan,' meaning to blow air, a cousin of Germanic words for breathing and swelling (the same root family gives us 'bladder' and 'blast'). The slang meaning 'to fail' or 'to squander' is a much later informal extension—something that falls apart as if scattered by wind, or money that disappears as if puffed away.