Blench Blench intransitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Blenched ; present participle & verbal noun Blenching .] [ Middle English blenchen to blench, elude, deceive, Anglo-Saxon blencan to deceive; akin to Icelandic blekkja to impose upon. Prop. a causative of blink to make to wink, to deceive. See Blink , and confer 3d Blanch .] 1. To shrink; to start back; to draw back, from lack of courage or resolution; to flinch; to quail.

Blench not at thy chosen lot.
Bryant.

This painful, heroic task he undertook, and never blenched from its fulfillment.
Jeffrey.

2. To fly off; to turn aside. [ Obsolete]

Though sometimes you do blench from this to that.
Shak.

Blench Blench transitive verb 1. To baffle; to disconcert; to turn away; -- also, to obstruct; to hinder. [ Obsolete]

Ye should have somewhat blenched him therewith, yet he might and would of likelihood have gone further.
Sir T. More.

2. To draw back from; to deny from fear. [ Obsolete]

He now blenched what before he affirmed.
Evelyn.

Blench Blench noun A looking aside or askance. [ Obsolete]

These blenches gave my heart another youth.
Shak.

Blench Blench intransitive verb & t. [ See 1st Blanch .] To grow or make pale. Barbour.

Blench holding Blench" hold`ing (Law) See Blanch holding .

Blencher Blench"er noun 1. One who, or that which, scares another; specifically, a person stationed to prevent the escape of the deer, at a hunt. See Blancher . [ Obsolete]

2. One who blenches, flinches, or shrinks back.

Blend Blend transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Blended or Blent ; present participle & verbal noun Blending .] [ Middle English blenden , blanden , Anglo-Saxon blandan to blend, mix; akin to Goth. blandan to mix, Icelandic blanda , Swedish blanda , Danish blande , Old High German blantan to mis; to unknown origin.] 1. To mix or mingle together; esp. to mingle, combine, or associate so that the separate things mixed, or the line of demarcation, can not be distinguished. Hence: To confuse; to confound.

Blending the grand, the beautiful, the gay.
Percival.

2. To pollute by mixture or association; to spoil or corrupt; to blot; to stain. [ Obsolete] Spenser.

Syn. -- To commingle; combine; fuse; merge; amalgamate; harmonize.

Blend Blend intransitive verb To mingle; to mix; to unite intimately; to pass or shade insensibly into each other, as colors.

There is a tone of solemn and sacred feeling that blends with our conviviality.
Irving.

Blend Blend noun A thorough mixture of one thing with another, as color, tint, etc., into another, so that it cannot be known where one ends or the other begins.

Blend Blend transitive verb [ Anglo-Saxon blendan , from blind blind. See Blind , adjective ] To make blind, literally or figuratively; to dazzle; to deceive. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Blende Blende noun [ G., from blenden to blind, dazzle, deceive, from blind blind. So called either in allusion to its dazzling luster; or ( Dana ) because, though often resembling galena, it yields no lead. Confer Sphalerite .] (Min.) (a) A mineral, called also sphalerite , and by miners mock lead , false galena , and black-jack . It is a zinc sulphide, but often contains some iron. Its color is usually yellow, brown, or black, and its luster resinous. (b) A general term for some minerals, chiefly metallic sulphides which have a somewhat brilliant but nonmetallic luster.

Blender Blend"er noun One who, or that which, blends; an instrument, as a brush, used in blending.

Blending Blend"ing noun 1. The act of mingling.

2. (Paint.) The method of laying on different tints so that they may mingle together while wet, and shade into each other insensibly. Weale.

Blendous Blend"ous adjective Pertaining to, consisting of, or containing, blende.

Blendwater Blend"wa`ter noun A distemper incident to cattle, in which their livers are affected. Crabb.

Blenheim spaniel Blen"heim span"iel [ So called from Blenheim House , the seat of the duke of Marlborough, in England.] A small variety of spaniel, kept as a pet.

Blenk Blenk intransitive verb To blink; to shine; to look. [ Obsolete]

Blennioid, Blenniid Blen"ni·oid, Blen"ni·id adjective [ Blenny + -oid ] (Zoology) Of, pertaining to, or resembling, the blennies.

Blennogenous Blen·nog"e·nous adjective [ Greek ... mucus + -genous .] Generating mucus.

Blennorrhea Blen`nor·rhe"a noun [ Greek ... mucus + ... to flow.] (Medicine) (a) An inordinate secretion and discharge of mucus. (b) Gonorrhea. Dunglison.

Blenny Blen"ny noun ; plural Blennies [ Latin blennius , blendius , blendea , Greek ... , from ... slime, mucus.] (Zoology) A marine fish of the genus Blennius or family Blenniidæ ; -- so called from its coating of mucus. The species are numerous.

Blent Blent imperfect & past participle of Blend to mingle. Mingled; mixed; blended; also, polluted; stained.

Rider and horse, friend, foe, in one red burial blent .
Byron.

Blent Blent imperfect & past participle of Blend to blind. Blinded. Also ( Chaucer ) 3d sing. present Blindeth. [ Obsolete]

Blepharitis Bleph`a·ri"tis noun [ New Latin , from Greek ... eyelid + -ilis .] (Medicine) Inflammation of the eyelids. -- Bleph`a*rit"ic adjective

Blesbok Bles"bok noun [ Dutch, from bles a white spot on the forehead + bok buck.] (Zoology) A South African antelope ( Alcelaphus albifrons ), having a large white spot on the forehead.

Bless Bless transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Blessed or Blest ; present participle & verbal noun Blessing .] [ Middle English blessien , bletsen , Anglo-Saxon bletsian , bledsian , bloedsian , from bl...d blood; probably originally to consecrate by sprinkling with blood. See Blood .] 1. To make or pronounce holy; to consecrate

And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it.
Gen. ii. 3.

2. To make happy, blithesome, or joyous; to confer prosperity or happiness upon; to grant divine favor to.

The quality of mercy is . . . twice blest ;
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.
Shak.

It hath pleased thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may continue forever before thee.
1 Chron. xvii. 27 (R. V. )

3. To express a wish or prayer for the happiness of; to invoke a blessing upon; -- applied to persons.

Bless them which persecute you.
Rom. xii. 14.

4. To invoke or confer beneficial attributes or qualities upon; to invoke or confer a blessing on, -- as on food.

Then he took the five loaves and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed them.
Luke ix. 16.

5. To make the sign of the cross upon; to cross (one's self). [ Archaic] Holinshed.

6. To guard; to keep; to protect. [ Obsolete]

7. To praise, or glorify; to extol for excellences.

Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
Ps. ciii. 1.

8. To esteem or account happy; to felicitate.

The nations shall bless themselves in him.
Jer. iv. 3.

9. To wave; to brandish. [ Obsolete]

And burning blades about their heads do bless .
Spenser.

Round his armed head his trenchant blade he blest .
Fairfax.

» This is an old sense of the word, supposed by Johnson, Nares, and others, to have been derived from the old rite of blessing a field by directing the hands to all parts of it. "In drawing [ their bow] some fetch such a compass as though they would turn about and bless all the field." Ascham.

Bless me! Bless us! an exclamation of surprise. Milton. -- To bless from , to secure, defend, or preserve from. " Bless me from marrying a usurer." Shak.

To bless the doors from nightly harm.
Milton.

-- To bless with , To be blessed with , to favor or endow with; to be favored or endowed with; as, God blesses us with health; we are blessed with happiness.

Blessed Bless"ed (blĕs"ĕd) adjective 1. Hallowed; consecrated; worthy of blessing or adoration; heavenly; holy.

O, run; prevent them with thy humble ode,
And lay it lowly at his blessed feet.
Milton.

2. Enjoying happiness or bliss; favored with blessings; happy; highly favored.

All generations shall call me blessed .
Luke i. 48.

Towards England's blessed shore.
Shak.

3. Imparting happiness or bliss; fraught with happiness; blissful; joyful. "Then was a blessed time." "So blessed a disposition." Shak.

4. Enjoying, or pertaining to, spiritual happiness, or heavenly felicity; as, the blessed in heaven.

Reverenced like a blessed saint.
Shak.

Cast out from God and blessed vision.
Milton.

5. (R. C. Ch.) Beatified.

6. Used euphemistically, ironically, or intensively.

Not a blessed man came to set her [ a boat] free.
R. D. Blackmore.

Blessed thistle Bless"ed this"tle See under Thistle .

Blessedly Bless"ed·ly adverb Happily; fortunately; joyfully.

We shall blessedly meet again never to depart.
Sir P. Sidney.

Blessedness Bless"ed·ness noun The state of being blessed; happiness; felicity; bliss; heavenly joys; the favor of God.

The assurance of a future blessedness .
Tillotson.

Single blessedness , the unmarried state. "Grows, lives, and dies in single blessedness ." Shak.

Syn. -- Delight; beatitude; ecstasy. See Happiness .

Blesser Bless"er noun One who blesses; one who bestows or invokes a blessing.

Blessing Bless"ing noun [ Anglo-Saxon bletsung . See Bless , transitive verb ] 1. The act of one who blesses.

2. A declaration of divine favor, or an invocation imploring divine favor on some or something; a benediction; a wish of happiness pronounces.

This is the blessing , where with Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel.
Deut. xxxiii. 1.

3. A means of happiness; that which promotes prosperity and welfare; a beneficent gift.

Nature's full blessings would be well dispensed.
Milton.

4. (Bib.) A gift. [ A Hebraism] Gen. xxxiii. 11.

5. Grateful praise or worship.

Blest Blest adjective Blessed. "This patriarch blest ." Milton.

White these blest sounds my ravished ear assail.
Trumbull.

Blet Blet noun [ French blet , blette , adjective , soft from over ripeness.] A form of decay in fruit which is overripe.

Blet Blet intransitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Bletted ; present participle & verbal noun Bletting .] To decay internally when overripe; -- said of fruit.

Bletonism Ble"ton·ism noun The supposed faculty of perceiving subterraneous springs and currents by sensation; -- so called from one Bleton , of France.

Bletting Blet"ting noun A form of decay seen in fleshy, overripe fruit. Lindley.

Blew Blew imperfect of Blow .

Bleyme Bleyme noun [ French bleime .] (Far.) An inflammation in the foot of a horse, between the sole and the bone. [ Obsolete]

Bleynte Bleyn"te imperfect of Blench . [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Blickey Blick"ey noun [ Dutch blik tin.] A tin dinner pail. [ Local, U. S.] Bartlett.

Blight Blight (blīt) transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Blighted ; present participle & verbal noun Blighting .] [ Perh. contr. from Anglo-Saxon blīcettan to glitter, from the same root as English bleak . The meaning "to blight" comes in that case from to glitter, hence, to be white or pale, grow pale, make pale, bleach. Confer Bleach , Bleak .] 1. To affect with blight; to blast; to prevent the growth and fertility of.

[ This vapor] blasts vegetables, blights corn and fruit, and is sometimes injurious even to man.
Woodward.

2. Hence: To destroy the happiness of; to ruin; to mar essentially; to frustrate; as, to blight one's prospects.

Seared in heart and lone and blighted .
Byron.

Blight Blight intransitive verb To be affected by blight; to blast; as, this vine never blights .

Blight Blight noun 1. Mildew; decay; anything nipping or blasting; -- applied as a general name to various injuries or diseases of plants, causing the whole or a part to wither, whether occasioned by insects, fungi, or atmospheric influences.

2. The act of blighting, or the state of being blighted; a withering or mildewing, or a stoppage of growth in the whole or a part of a plant, etc.

3. That which frustrates one's plans or withers one's hopes; that which impairs or destroys.

A blight seemed to have fallen over our fortunes.
Disraeli.

4. (Zoology) A downy species of aphis, or plant louse, destructive to fruit trees, infesting both the roots and branches; -- also applied to several other injurious insects.

5. plural A rashlike eruption on the human skin. [ U. S.]

Blighting Blight"ing adjective Causing blight.

Blightingly Blight"ing·ly adverb So as to cause blight.

Blimbi, Blimbing Blim"bi, Blim"bing noun See Bilimbi , etc.

Blin Blin transitive verb & i. [ Middle English blinnen , Anglo-Saxon blinnan ; prefix be- + linnan to cease.] To stop; to cease; to desist. [ Obsolete] Spenser.

Blin Blin noun [ Anglo-Saxon blinn .] Cessation; end. [ Obsolete]

Blind Blind adjective [ Anglo-Saxon ; akin to D., G., Old Saxon , Swedish , & Danish blind , Icelandic blindr , Goth. blinds ; of uncertain origin.] 1. Destitute of the sense of seeing, either by natural defect or by deprivation; without sight.

He that is strucken blind can not forget
The precious treasure of his eyesight lost.
Shak.

2. Not having the faculty of discernment; destitute of intellectual light; unable or unwilling to understand or judge; as, authors are blind to their own defects.

But hard be hardened, blind be blinded more,
That they may stumble on, and deeper fall.
Milton.

3. Undiscerning; undiscriminating; inconsiderate.

This plan is recommended neither to blind approbation nor to blind reprobation.
Jay.

4. Having such a state or condition as a thing would have to a person who is blind; not well marked or easily discernible; hidden; unseen; concealed; as, a blind path; a blind ditch.

5. Involved; intricate; not easily followed or traced.

The blind mazes of this tangled wood.
Milton.

6. Having no openings for light or passage; as, a blind wall; open only at one end; as, a blind alley; a blind gut.

7. Unintelligible, or not easily intelligible; as, a blind passage in a book; illegible; as, blind writing.

8. (Hort.) Abortive; failing to produce flowers or fruit; as, blind buds; blind flowers.

Blind alley , an alley closed at one end; a cul- de-sac . -- Blind axle , an axle which turns but does not communicate motion. Knight. -- Blind beetle , one of the insects apt to fly against people, esp. at night. -- Blind cat (Zoology) , a species of catfish ( Gronias nigrolabris ), nearly destitute of eyes, living in caverns in Pennsylvania. -- Blind coal , coal that burns without flame; anthracite coal. Simmonds. - - Blind door , Blind window , an imitation of a door or window, without an opening for passage or light. See Blank door or window , under Blank , adjective -- Blind level (Mining) , a level or drainage gallery which has a vertical shaft at each end, and acts as an inverted siphon. Knight. -- Blind nettle (Botany) , dead nettle. See Dead nettle , under Dead . -- Blind shell (Gunnery) , a shell containing no charge, or one that does not explode. -- Blind side , the side which is most easily assailed; a weak or unguarded side; the side on which one is least able or disposed to see danger. Swift. -- Blind snake (Zoology) , a small, harmless, burrowing snake, of the family Typhlopidæ , with rudimentary eyes. -- Blind spot (Anat.) , the point in the retina of the eye where the optic nerve enters, and which is insensible to light. -- Blind tooling , in bookbinding and leather work, the indented impression of heated tools, without gilding; -- called also blank tooling , and blind blocking . -- Blind wall , a wall without an opening; a blank wall.

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