Blague (blȧg) noun [ French] Mendacious boasting; falsehood; humbug.

Blain (blān) noun [ Middle English blein , bleyn , Anglo-Saxon blēgen ; akin to Danish blegn , Dutch blein ; perhaps from the same root as English bladder . See Bladder .]
1. An inflammatory swelling or sore; a bulla, pustule, or blister.

Blotches and blains must all his flesh emboss.
Milton.

2. (Far.) A bladder growing on the root of the tongue of a horse, against the windpipe, and stopping the breath.

Blamable (blām"ȧ*b'l) adjective [ Confer French blâmable .] Deserving of censure; faulty; culpable; reprehensible; censurable; blameworthy. -- Blam"a*ble*ness , noun -- Blam"a*bly adverb

Blame (blām) transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Blamed (blāmd); present participle & verbal noun Blaming .] [ Middle English blamen , French blâmer , Old French blasmer , from Latin blasphemare to blaspheme, Late Latin also to blame, from Greek blasfhmei^n to speak ill, to slander, to blaspheme, from bla`sfhmos evil speaking, perh, for blapsi`fhmos ; bla`psis injury (fr. bla`ptein to injure) + fh`mh a saying, from fa`nai to say. Confer Blaspheme , and see Fame .]

1. To censure; to express disapprobation of; to find fault with; to reproach.

We have none to blame but ourselves.
Tillotson.

2. To bring reproach upon; to blemish. [ Obsolete]

She . . . blamed her noble blood.
Spenser.

To blame , to be blamed, or deserving blame; in fault; as, the conductor was to blame for the accident.

You were to blame , I must be plain with you.
Shak.

Blame noun [ Middle English blame , from French blâme , Old French blasme , from blâmer , Old French blasmer , to blame. See Blame , v. ]
1. An expression of disapprobation fir something deemed to be wrong; imputation of fault; censure.

Let me bear the blame forever.
Gen. xiiii. 9.

2. That which is deserving of censure or disapprobation; culpability; fault; crime; sin.

Holy and without blame before him in love.
Eph. i. 4.

3. Hurt; injury. [ Obsolete] Spenser.

Syn. -- Censure; reprehension; condemnation; reproach; fault; sin; crime; wrongdoing.

Blameful adjective
1. Faulty; meriting blame. Shak.

2. Attributing blame or fault; implying or conveying censure; faultfinding; censorious. Chaucer.

-- Blame"ful*ly , adverb -- Blame"ful*ness , noun

Blameless adjective Free from blame; without fault; innocent; guiltless; -- sometimes followed by of .

A bishop then must be blameless .
1 Tim. iii. 2.

Blameless still of arts that polish to deprave.
Mallet.

We will be blameless of this thine oath.
Josh. ii. 17.

Syn. -- Irreproachable; sinless; unblemished; inculpable. -- Blameless , Spotless , Faultless , Stainless . We speak of a thing as blameless when it is free from blame, or the just imputation of fault; as, a blameless life or character. The others are stronger. We speak of a thing as faultless , stainless , or spotless , only when we mean that it is absolutely without fault or blemish; as, a spotless or stainless reputation; a faultless course of conduct. The last three words apply only to the general character, while blameless may be used in reverence to particular points; as, in this transaction he was wholly blameless . We also apply faultless to personal appearance; as, a faultless figure; which can not be done in respect to any of the other words.

Blamelessly adverb In a blameless manner.

Blamelessness noun The quality or state of being blameless; innocence.

Blamer noun One who blames. Wyclif.

Blameworthy adjective Deserving blame; culpable; reprehensible. -- Blame"wor`thi*ness , noun

Blanc noun [ French, white.]
1. A white cosmetic.

2. A white sauce of fat, broth, and vegetables, used esp. for braised meat.

Blancard noun [ French, from blanc white.] A kind of linen cloth made in Normandy, the thread of which is partly blanches before it is woven.

Blanch transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Blanched ; present participle & verbal noun Blanching .] [ Middle English blanchen , blaunchen , French blanchir , from blanc white. See Blank , adjective ]

1. To take the color out of, and make white; to bleach; as, to blanch linen; age has blanched his hair.

2. (Gardening) To bleach by excluding the light, as the stalks or leaves of plants, by earthing them up or tying them together.

3. (Confectionery & Cookery) (a) To make white by removing the skin of, as by scalding; as, to blanch almonds. (b) To whiten, as the surface of meat, by plunging into boiling water and afterwards into cold, so as to harden the surface and retain the juices.

4. To give a white luster to (silver, before stamping, in the process of coining.).

5. To cover (sheet iron) with a coating of tin.

6. Fig.: To whiten; to give a favorable appearance to; to whitewash; to palliate.

Blanch over the blackest and most absurd things.
Tillotson.

Syn. -- To Blanch , Whiten . To whiten is the generic term, denoting, to render white; as, to whiten the walls of a room. Usually (though not of necessity) this is supposed to be done by placing some white coloring matter in or upon the surface of the object in question. To blanch is to whiten by the removal of coloring matter; as, to blanch linen. So the cheek is blanched by fear, i. e., by the withdrawal of the blood, which leaves it white.

Blanch intransitive verb To grow or become white; as, his cheek blanched with fear; the rose blanches in the sun.

[ Bones] blanching on the grass.
Tennyson.

Blanch transitive verb [ See Blench .]
1. To avoid, as from fear; to evade; to leave unnoticed. [ Obsolete]

Ifs and ands to qualify the words of treason, whereby every man might express his malice and blanch his danger.
Bacon.

I suppose you will not blanch Paris in your way.
Reliq. Wot.

2. To cause to turn aside or back; as, to blanch a deer.

Blanch intransitive verb To use evasion. [ Obsolete]

Books will speak plain, when counselors blanch .
Bacon.

Blanch noun (Mining) Ore, not in masses, but mixed with other minerals.

Blanch holding (Scots Law) A mode of tenure by the payment of a small duty in white rent (silver) or otherwise.

Blanchard lathe [ After Thomas Blanchard , American inventor.] (Machinery) A kind of wood-turning lathe for making noncircular and irregular forms, as felloes, gun stocks, lasts, spokes, etc., after a given pattern. The pattern and work rotate on parallel spindles in the same direction with the same speed, and the work is shaped by a rapidly rotating cutter whose position is varied by the pattern acting as a cam upon a follower wheel traversing slowly along the pattern.

Blancher noun One who, or that which, blanches or whitens; esp., one who anneals and cleanses money; also, a chemical preparation for this purpose.

Blanchimeter noun [ 1st blanch + -meter .] An instrument for measuring the bleaching power of chloride of lime and potash; a chlorometer. Ure.

Blancmange noun [ French blancmanger , lit. white food; blanc white + manger to eat.] (Cookery) A preparation for desserts, etc., made from isinglass, sea moss, cornstarch, or other gelatinous or starchy substance, with mild, usually sweetened and flavored, and shaped in a mold.

Blancmanger noun [ French See Blancmange .] A sort of fricassee with white sauce, variously made of capon, fish, etc. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Bland adjective [ Latin blandus , of unknown origin.]

1. Mild; soft; gentle; smooth and soothing in manner; suave; as, a bland temper; bland persuasion; a bland sycophant. "Exhilarating vapor bland ." Milton.

2. Having soft and soothing qualities; not drastic or irritating; not stimulating; as, a bland oil; a bland diet.

Blandation noun [ Confer Latin blanditia , blandities , from blandus . See Bland .] Flattery. [ Obsolete]

Blandiloquence noun [ Latin blandiloquentia ; blandus mild + loqui to speak.] Mild, flattering speech.

Blandiloquous, Blandiloquious adjective Fair-spoken; flattering.

Blandise intransitive verb [ Same word as Blandish .] To blandish any one. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Blandish transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Blandished ; present participle & verbal noun Blandishing .] [ Middle English blaundisen , French blandir , from Latin blandiri , from blandus mild, flattering.]
1. To flatter with kind words or affectionate actions; to caress; to cajole.

2. To make agreeable and enticing.

Mustering all her wiles,
With blandished parleys.
Milton.

Blandisher noun One who uses blandishments.

Blandishment noun [ Confer Old French blandissement .] The act of blandishing; a word or act expressive of affection or kindness, and tending to win the heart; soft words and artful caresses; cajolery; allurement.

Cowering low with blandishment .
Milton.

Attacked by royal smiles, by female blandishments .
Macaulay.

Blandly adverb In a bland manner; mildly; suavely.

Blandness noun The state or quality of being bland.

Blank adjective [ Middle English blank , blonc , blaunc , blaunche , from French blanc , fem. blanche , from Old High German blanch shining, bright, white, German blank ; akin to English blink , confer also Anglo-Saxon blanc white. ...98. See Blink , and confer 1st Blanch .]

1. Of a white or pale color; without color.

To the blank moon
Her office they prescribed.
Milton.

2. Free from writing, printing, or marks; having an empty space to be filled in with some special writing; -- said of checks, official documents, etc.; as, blank paper; a blank check; a blank ballot.

3. Utterly confounded or discomfited.

Adam . . . astonied stood, and blank .
Milton.

4. Empty; void; without result; fruitless; as, a blank space; a blank day.

5. Lacking characteristics which give variety; as, a blank desert; a blank wall; destitute of interests, affections, hopes, etc.; as, to live a blank existence; destitute of sensations; as, blank unconsciousness.

6. Lacking animation and intelligence, or their associated characteristics, as expression of face, look, etc.; expressionless; vacant. " Blank and horror-stricken faces." C. Kingsley.

The blank . . . glance of a half returned consciousness.
G. Eliot.

7. Absolute; downright; unmixed; as, blank terror.

Blank bar (Law) , a plea put in to oblige the plaintiff in an action of trespass to assign the certain place where the trespass was committed; -- called also common bar . -- Blank cartridge , a cartridge containing no ball. -- Blank deed . See Deed . -- Blank door , or Blank window (Architecture) , a depression in a wall of the size of a door or window, either for symmetrical effect, or for the more convenient insertion of a door or window at a future time, should it be needed. -- Blank indorsement (Law) , an indorsement which omits the name of the person in whose favor it is made; it is usually made by simply writing the name of the indorser on the back of the bill. -- Blank line (Print.) , a vacant space of the breadth of a line, on a printed page; a line of quadrats. -- Blank tire (Mech.) , a tire without a flange. -- Blank tooling . See Blind tooling , under Blind . -- Blank verse . See under Verse . -- Blank wall , a wall in which there is no opening; a dead wall.

Blank noun
1. Any void space; a void space on paper, or in any written instrument; an interval void of consciousness, action, result, etc; a void.

I can not write a paper full, I used to do; and yet I will not forgive a blank of half an inch from you.
Swift.

From this time there ensues a long blank in the history of French legislation.
Hallam.

I was ill. I can't tell how long -- it was a blank .
G. Eliot.

2. A lot by which nothing is gained; a ticket in a lottery on which no prize is indicated.

In Fortune's lottery lies
A heap of blanks , like this, for one small prize.
Dryden.

3. A paper unwritten; a paper without marks or characters a blank ballot; -- especially, a paper on which are to be inserted designated items of information, for which spaces are left vacant; a bland form.

The freemen signified their approbation by an inscribed vote, and their dissent by a blank .
Palfrey.

4. A paper containing the substance of a legal instrument, as a deed, release, writ, or execution, with spaces left to be filled with names, date, descriptions, etc.

5. The point aimed at in a target, marked with a white spot; hence, the object to which anything is directed.

Let me still remain
The true blank of thine eye.
Shak.

6. Aim; shot; range. [ Obsolete]

I have stood . . . within the blank of his displeasure
For my free speech.
Shak.

7. A kind of base silver money, first coined in England by Henry V., and worth about 8 pence; also, a French coin of the seventeenth century, worth about 4 pence. Nares.

8. (Mech.) A piece of metal prepared to be made into something by a further operation, as a coin, screw, nuts.

9. (Dominoes) A piece or division of a piece, without spots; as, the "double blank "; the "six blank ."

In blank , with an essential portion to be supplied by another; as, to make out a check in blank .

Blank transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Blanked ; present participle & verbal noun Blanking .] [ Confer 3d Blanch .]
1. To make void; to annul. [ Obsolete] Spenser.

2. To blanch; to make blank; to damp the spirits of; to dispirit or confuse. [ Obsolete]

Each opposite that blanks the face of joy.
Shak.

Blanket noun [ French blanchet , Old French also blanket , a woolen waistcoat or shirt, the blanket of a printing press; prop. white woolen stuff, dim. of blanc white; blanquette a kind of white pear, from blanc white. See Blank , adjective ]
1. A heavy, loosely woven fabric, usually of wool, and having a nap, used in bed clothing; also, a similar fabric used as a robe; or any fabric used as a cover for a horse.

2. (Print.) A piece of rubber, felt, or woolen cloth, used in the tympan to make it soft and elastic.

3. A streak or layer of blubber in whales.

» The use of blankets formerly as curtains in theaters explains the following figure of Shakespeare. Nares.

Nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark
To cry, "Hold, hold!"
Shak.

Blanket sheet , a newspaper of folio size. -- A wet blanket , anything which damps, chills, dispirits, or discour...ges.

Blanket transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Blanketed ; present participle & verbal noun Blanketing .]
1. To cover with a blanket.

I'll . . . blanket my loins.
Shak.

2. To toss in a blanket by way of punishment.

We'll have our men blanket 'em i' the hall.
B. Jonson.

3. To take the wind out of the sails of (another vessel) by sailing to windward of her.

Blanket cattle . See Belted cattle , under Belted .

Blanket clause (Law) A clause, as in a blanket mortgage or policy, that includes a group or class of things, rather than a number mentioned individually and having the burden, loss, or the like, apportioned among them.

Blanket mortgage, policy One that covers a group or class of things or properties instead of one or more things mentioned individually, as where a mortgage secures various debts as a group, or subjects a group or class of different pieces of property to one general lien.

Blanket stitch A buttonhole stitch worked wide apart on the edge of material, as blankets, too thick to hem.

Blanketing noun
1. Cloth for blankets.

2. The act or punishment of tossing in a blanket.

That affair of the blanketing happened to thee for the fault thou wast guilty of.
Smollett.

Blankly adverb
1. In a blank manner; without expression; vacuously; as, to stare blankly . G. Eliot.

2. Directly; flatly; point blank. De Quincey.

Blankness noun The state of being blank.

Blanquette noun [ French blanquette , from blanc white.] (Cookery) A white fricassee.

Blanquillo noun [ Spanish blanquillo whitish.] (Zoology) A large fish of Florida and the W. Indies ( Caulolatilus chrysops ). It is red, marked with yellow.

Blæberry noun [ Blæ + berry ; akin to Icel blāber , Swedish bl...bär , Dutch blaabær . Confer Blueberry .] The bilberry. [ North of Eng. & Scot.]