Chapter XLVII: Appendix: Vermiformis (26)

BLASTOSPHERE Blas"to*sphere, n. Etym: [Gr. sprout + E. sphere.] (Biol.)

Defn: The hollow globe or sphere formed by the arrangement of the blastomeres on the periphery of an impregnated ovum.

Note: [See Illust. of Invagination.]

BLASTOSTYLE Blas"to*style, n. Etym: [Gr. sprout, bud + a pillar.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: In certain hydroids, an imperfect zooid, whose special function is to produce medusoid buds. See Hydroidea, and Athecata.

BLAST PIPE Blast" pipe`.

Defn: The exhaust pipe of a steam engine, or any pipe delivering steam or air, when so constructed as to cause a blast.

BLASTULA Blas"tu*la, n. Etym: [NL., dim. of Gr. a sprout.] (Biol.)

Defn: That stage in the development of the ovum in which the outer cells of the morula become more defined and form the blastoderm.

BLASTULE Blas"tule, n. (Biol.)

Defn: Same as Blastula.

BLASTY Blast"y, a.

1. Affected by blasts; gusty.

2. Causing blast or injury. [Obs.] Boyle.

BLAT Blat, v. i.

Defn: To cry, as a calf or sheep; to bleat; to make a senseless noise; to talk inconsiderately. [Low]

BLAT Blat, v. t.

Defn: To utter inconsiderately. [Low] If I have anything on my mind, I have to blat it right out. W. D. Howells.

BLATANCY Bla"tan*cy, n.

Defn: Blatant quality.

BLATANT Bla"tant, a. Etym: [Cf. Bleat.]

Defn: Bellowing, as a calf; bawling; brawling; clamoring; disagreeably clamorous; sounding loudly and harshly. "Harsh and blatant tone." R. H. Dana. A monster, which the blatant beast men call. Spenser. Glory, that blatant word, which haunts some military minds like the bray of the trumpet. W. Irving.

BLATANTLY Bla"tant*ly, adv.

Defn: In a blatant manner.

BLATHER Blath"er (blath"er), v. i. & t. [imp. & p. p. Blathered; p. pr. & vb. n. Blathering.] [Written also blether.] [Icel. blaðra. Cf. Blatherskite.]

Defn: To talk foolishly, or nonsensically. G. Eliot.

BLATHER Blath"er, n. [Written also blether.]

Defn: Voluble, foolish, or nonsensical talk; -- often in the pl. Hall Caine.

BLATHERSKITE Blath"er*skite, n.

Defn: A blustering, talkative fellow. [Local slang, U. S.] Barllett.

BLATTER Blat"ter, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Blattered.] Etym: [L. blaterare to babble: cf. F. blatérer to bleat.]

Defn: To prate; to babble; to rail; to make a senseless noise; to patter. [Archaic] "The rain blattered." Jeffrey. They procured . . . preachers to blatter against me, . . . so that they had place and time to belie me shamefully. Latimer.

BLATTERATION Blat`ter*a"tion, n. Etym: [L. blateratio a babbling.]

Defn: Blattering.

BLATTERER Blat"ter*er, n.

Defn: One who blatters; a babbler; a noisy, blustering boaster.

BLATTERING Blat"ter*ing, n.

Defn: Senseless babble or boasting.

BLATTEROON Blat`ter*oon", n. Etym: [L. blatero, -onis.]

Defn: A senseless babbler or boaster. [Obs.] "I hate such blatteroons." Howell.

BLAUBOK Blau"bok, n. Etym: [D. blauwbok.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: The blue buck. See Blue buck, under Blue.

BLAY Blay, n. Etym: [AS. bl, fr. bl, bleak, white; akin to Icel. bleikja, OHG. bleicha, G. bleihe. See Bleak, n. & a.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A fish. See Bleak, n.

BLAZE Blaze (blaz), n. Etym: [OE. blase, AS. blæse, blase; akin to OHG. blass whitish, G. blass pale, MHG. blas torch, Icel. blys torch; perh. fr. the same root as E. blast. Cf. Blast, Blush, Blink.]

1. A stream of gas or vapor emitting light and heat in the process of combustion; a bright flame. "To heaven the blaze uprolled." Croly.

2. Intense, direct light accompanied with heat; as, to seek shelter from the blaze of the sun. O dark, dark, dark, amid the blaze of noon! Milton.

3. A bursting out, or active display of any quality; an outburst; a brilliant display. "Fierce blaze of riot." "His blaze of wrath." Shak. For what is glory but the blaze of fame Milton.

4. [Cf. D. bles; akin to E. blaze light.]

Defn: A white spot on the forehead of a horse.

5. A spot made on trees by chipping off a piece of the bark, usually as a surveyor's mark. Three blazes in a perpendicular line on the same tree indicating a legislative road, the single blaze a settlement or neighborhood road. Carlton. In a blaze, on fire; burning with a flame; filled with, giving, or reflecting light; excited or exasperated. -- Like blazes, furiously; rapidly. [Low] "The horses did along like blazes tear." Poem in Essex dialect.

Note: In low language in the U. S., blazes is frequently used of something extreme or excessive, especially of something very bad; as, blue as blazes. Neal.

Syn. -- Blaze, Flame. A blaze and a flame are both produced by burning gas. In blaze the idea of light rapidly evolved is prominent, with or without heat; as, the blaze of the sun or of a meteor. Flame includes a stronger notion of heat; as, he perished in the flames.

BLAZE Blaze, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Blazed; p. pr. & vb. n. Blazing.]

1. To shine with flame; to glow with flame; as, the fire blazes.

2. To send forth or reflect glowing or brilliant light; to show a blaze. And far and wide the icy summit blazed. Wordsworth.

3. To be resplendent. Macaulay. To blaze away, to discharge a firearm, or to continue firing; -- said esp. of a number of persons, as a line of soldiers. Also used (fig.) of speech or action. [Colloq.]

BLAZE Blaze, v. t.

1. To mark (a tree) by chipping off a piece of the bark. I found my way by the blazed trees. Hoffman.

2. To designate by blazing; to mark out, as by blazed trees; as, to blaze a line or path. Champollion died in 1832, having done little more than blaze out the road to be traveled by others. Nott.

BLAZE Blaze, v. t. Etym: [OE. blasen to blow; perh. confused with blast and blaze a flame, OE. blase. Cf. Blaze, v. i., and see Blast.]

1. To make public far and wide; to make known; to render conspicuous. On charitable lists he blazed his name. Pollok. To blaze those virtues which the good would hide. Pope.

2. (Her.)

Defn: To blazon. [Obs.] Peacham.

BLAZER Blaz"er, n.

Defn: One who spreads reports or blazes matters abroad. "Blazers of crime." Spenser.

BLAZING Blaz"ing, a.

Defn: Burning with a blaze; as, a blazing fire; blazing torches. Sir W. Scott. Blazing star. (a) A comet. [Obs.] (b) A brilliant center of attraction. (c) (Bot.) A name given to several plants; as, to Chamælirium luteum of the Lily family; Liatris squarrosa; and Aletris farinosa, called also colicroot and star grass.

BLAZON Bla"zon, n. Etym: [OE. blason, blasoun, shield, fr. F. blason coat of arms, OF. shield, from the root of AS. blæse blaze, i. e., luster, splendor, MHG. blas torch See Blaze, n.]

1. A shield. [Obs.]

2. An heraldic shield; a coat of arms, or a bearing on a coat of arms; armorial bearings. Their blazon o'er his towers displayed. Sir W. Scott.

3. The art or act of describing or depicting heraldic bearings in the proper language or manner. Peacham.

4. Ostentatious display, either by words or other means; publication; show; description; record. Obtrude the blazon of their exploits upon the company. Collier. Thy tongue, thy face, thy limbs, actions, and spirit, Do give thee fivefold blazon. Shak.

BLAZON Bla"zon, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Blazoned; p. pr. & vb. n. Blazoning.] Etym: [From blazon, n.; confused with 4th blaze: cf. F. blasonner.]

1. To depict in colors; to display; to exhibit conspicuously; to publish or make public far and wide. Thyself thou blazon'st. Shak. There pride sits blazoned on th' unmeaning brow. Trumbull. To blazon his own worthless name. Cowper.

2. To deck; to embellish; to adorn. She blazons in dread smiles her hideous form. Garth.

3. (Her.)

Defn: To describe in proper terms (the figures of heraldic devices); also, to delineate (armorial bearings); to emblazon. The coat of , arms, which I am not herald enough to blazon into English. Addison.

BLAZON Bla"zon, v. i.

Defn: To shine; to be conspicuous. [R.]

BLAZONER Bla"zon*er, n.

Defn: One who gives publicity, proclaims, or blazons; esp., one who blazons coats of arms; a herald. Burke.

BLAZONMENT Bla"zon*ment, n.

Defn: The act or blazoning; blazoning; emblazonment.

BLAZONRY Bla"zon*ry, n.

1. Same as Blazon, 3. The principles of blazonry. Peacham.

2. A coat of arms; an armorial bearing or bearings. The blazonry of Argyle. Lord Dufferin.

3. Artistic representation or display.

BLEA Blea, n.

Defn: The part of a tree which lies immediately under the bark; the alburnum or sapwood.

BLEABERRY Blea"ber*ry, n. (Bot.)

Defn: See Blaeberry.

BLEACH Bleach, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bleached; p. pr. & vb. n. Bleaching.] Etym: [OE. blakien, blechen, v. t. & v. i., AS. blacian, bl, to grow pale; akin to Icel. bleikja, Sw. bleka, Dan. blege, D. bleeken, G. bleichen, AS. blac pale. See Bleak, a.]

Defn: To make white, or whiter; to remove the color, or stains, from; to blanch; to whiten. The destruction of the coloring matters attached to the bodies to be bleached is effected either by the action of the air and light, of chlorine, or of sulphurous acid. Ure. Immortal liberty, whose look sublime Hath bleached the tyrant's cheek in every varying clime. Smollett.

BLEACH Bleach, v. i.

Defn: To grow white or lose color; to whiten.

BLEACHED Bleached, a.

Defn: Whitened; make white. Let their bleached bones, and blood's unbleaching stain, Long mark the battlefield with hideous awe. Byron.

BLEACHER Bleach"er, n.

Defn: One who whitens, or whose occupation is to whiten, by bleaching.

BLEACHERY Bleach"er*y, n.; pl. Bleacheries (.

Defn: A place or an establishment where bleaching is done.

BLEACHING Bleach"ing, n.

Defn: The act or process of whitening, by removing color or stains; esp. the process of whitening fabrics by chemical agents. Ure. Bleaching powder, a powder for bleaching, consisting of chloride of lime, or some other chemical or chemicals.

BLEAK Bleak, a. Etym: [OE. blac, bleyke, bleche, AS. blac, bl, pale, wan; akin to Icel. bleikr, Sw. blek, Dan. bleg, OS. bl, D. bleek, OHG. pleih, G. bleich; all from the root of AS. blican to shine; akin to OHG. blichen to shine; cf. L. flagrare to burn, Gr. to burn, shine, Skr. bhraj to shine, and E. flame. Bleach, Blink, Flame.]

1. Without color; pale; pallid. [Obs.] When she came out she looked as pale and as bleak as one that were laid out dead. Foxe.

2. Desolate and exposed; swept by cold winds. Wastes too bleak to rear The common growth of earth, the foodful ear. Wordsworth. At daybreak, on the bleak sea beach. Longfellow.

3. Cold and cutting; cheerless; as, a bleak blast. -- Bleak"ish, a. -- Bleak"ly, adv. -- Bleak"ness, n.

BLEAK Bleak, n. Etym: [From Bleak, a., cf. Blay.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A small European river fish (Leuciscus alburnus), of the family Cyprinidæ; the blay. [Written also blick.]

Note: The silvery pigment lining the scales of the bleak is used in the manufacture of artificial pearls. Baird.

BLEAKY Bleak"y, a.

Defn: Bleak. [Obs.] Dryden.

BLEAR Blear, a. Etym: [See Blear, v.]

1. Dim or sore with water or rheum; -- said of the eyes. His blear eyes ran in gutters to his chin. Dryden.

2. Causing or caused by dimness of sight; dim. Power to cheat the eye with blear illusion. Milton.

BLEAR Blear, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bleared; p. pr. & vb. n. Blearing.] Etym: [OE. bleren; cf. Dan. plire to blink, Sw. plira to twinkle, wink, LG. plieren; perh. from the same root as E. blink. See Blink, and cf. Blur.]

Defn: To make somewhat sore or watery, as the eyes; to dim, or blur, as the sight. Figuratively: To obscure (mental or moral perception); to blind; to hoodwink. That tickling rheums Should ever tease the lungs and blear the sight. Cowper. To blear the eye of, to deceive; to impose upon. [Obs.] Chaucer.

BLEARED Bleared, a.

Defn: Dimmed, as by a watery humor; affected with rheum. -- Blear"ed*ness (, n. Dardanian wives, With bleared visages, come forth to view The issue of the exploit. Shak.

BLEAREYE Blear"eye`, n. (Med.)

Defn: A disease of the eyelids, consisting in chronic inflammation of the margins, with a gummy secretion of sebaceous matter. Dunglison.

BLEAR-EYED Blear"-eyed`, a.

1. Having sore eyes; having the eyes dim with rheum; dim-sighted. The blear-eyed Crispin. Drant.

2. Lacking in perception or penetration; short-sighted; as, a blear- eyed bigot.

BLEAREYEDNESS Blear"eyed`ness, n.

Defn: The state of being blear-eyed.

BLEARY Blear"y, a.

Defn: Somewhat blear.

BLEAT Bleat, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Bleated; p. pr. & vb. n. Bleating.] Etym: [OE. bleten, AS. bl; akin to D. blaten, bleeten, OHG. blazan, plazan; prob. of imitative origin.]

Defn: To make the noise of, or one like that of, a sheep; to cry like a sheep or calf. Then suddenly was heard along the main, To low the ox, to bleat the woolly train. Pope The ewe that will not hear her lamb when it baas, will never answer a calf when he bleats. Shak.

BLEAT Bleat, n.

Defn: A plaintive cry of, or like that of, a sheep. The bleat of fleecy sheep. Chapman's Homer.

BLEATER Bleat"er, n.

Defn: One who bleats; a sheep. In cold, stiff soils the bleaters oft complain Of gouty ails. Dyer.

BLEATING Bleat"ing, a.

Defn: Crying as a sheep does. Then came the shepherd back with his bleating flocks from the seaside. Longfellow.

BLEATING Bleat"ing, n.

Defn: The cry of, or as of, a sheep. Chapman.

BLEB Bleb, n. Etym: [Prov. E. bleb, bleib, blob, bubble, blister. This word belongs to the root of blub, blubber, blabber, and perh. blow to puff.]

Defn: A large vesicle or bulla, usually containing a serous fluid; a blister; a bubble, as in water, glass, etc. Arsenic abounds with air blebs. Kirwan.

BLEBBY Bleb"by, a.

Defn: Containing blebs, or characterized by blebs; as, blebby glass.

BLECK; BLEK Bleck, Blek, v. t.

Defn: To blacken; also, to defile. [Obs. or Dial.] Wyclif.

BLED Bled,

Defn: imp. & p. p. of Bleed.

BLEE Blee, n. Etym: [AS. bleó, bleóh.]

Defn: Complexion; color; hue; likeness; form. [Archaic] For him which is so bright of blee. Lament. of Mary Magd. That boy has a strong blee of his father. Forby.

BLEED Bleed, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Bled; p. pr. & vb. n. Bleeding.] Etym: [OE. bleden, AS. bl, fr. bl blood; akin to Sw. blöda, Dan. blöde, D. bloeden, G. bluten. See Blood.]

1. To emit blood; to lose blood; to run with blood, by whatever means; as, the arm bleeds; the wound bled freely; to bleed at the nose.

2. To withdraw blood from the body; to let blood; as, Dr. A. bleeds in fevers.

3. To lose or shed one's blood, as in case of a violent death or severe wounds; to die by violence. "Cæsar must bleed." Shak. The lamb thy riot dooms to bleed to-day. Pope.

4. To issue forth, or drop, as blood from an incision. For me the balm shall bleed. Pope.

5. To lose sap, gum, or juice; as, a tree or a vine bleeds when tapped or wounded.

6. To pay or lose money; to have money drawn or extorted; as, to bleed freely for a cause. [Colloq.] To make the heart bleed, to cause extreme pain, as from sympathy or pity.

BLEED Bleed, v. t.

1. To let blood from; to take or draw blood from, as by opening a vein.

2. To lose, as blood; to emit or let drop, as sap. A decaying pine of stately size, bleeding amber. H. Miller.

3. To draw money from (one); to induce to pay; as, they bled him freely for this fund. [Colloq.]

BLEEDER Bleed"er, n. (Med.) (a) One who, or that which, draws blood. (b) One in whom slight wounds give rise to profuse or uncontrollable bleeding.

BLEEDING Bleed"ing, a.

Defn: Emitting, or appearing to emit, blood or sap, etc.; also, expressing anguish or compassion.

BLEEDING Bleed"ing, n.

Defn: A running or issuing of blood, as from the nose or a wound; a hemorrhage; the operation of letting blood, as in surgery; a drawing or running of sap from a tree or plant.

BLEMISH Blem"ish, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Blemished; p. pr. & vb. n. Blemishing.] Etym: [OE. blemissen, blemishen, OF. blemir, blesmir, to strike, injure, soil, F. blêmir to grow pale, fr. OF. bleme, blesme, pale, wan, F. blême, prob. fr. Icel blaman the livid color of a wound, fr. blar blue; akin to E. blue. OF. blemir properly signifies to beat one (black and) blue, and to render blue or dirty. See Blue.]

1. To mark with deformity; to injure or impair, as anything which is well formed, or excellent; to mar, or make defective, either the body or mind. Sin is a soil which blemisheth the beauty of thy soul. Brathwait.

2. To tarnish, as reputation or character; to defame. There had nothing passed between us that might blemish reputation. Oldys.

BLEMISH Blem"ish, n.; pl. Blemishes (.

Defn: Any mark of deformity or injury, whether physical or moral; anything; that diminishes beauty, or renders imperfect that which is otherwise well formed; that which impairs reputation. He shall take two he lambs without blemish, and one ewe lamb of the first year without blemish. Lev. xiv. 10. The reliefs of an envious man are those little blemishes and imperfections that discover themselves in an illustrious character. Spectator.

Syn. -- Spot; speck; flaw; deformity; stain; defect; fault; taint; reproach; dishonor; imputation; disgrace.

BLEMISHLESS Blem"ish*less, a.

Defn: Without blemish; spotless. A life in all so blemishless. Feltham.

BLEMISHMENT Blem"ish*ment, n.

Defn: The state of being blemished; blemish; disgrace; damage; impairment. For dread of blame and honor's blemishment. Spenser.

BLENCH Blench, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Blenched; p. pr. & vb. n. Blenching.] Etym: [OE. blenchen to blench, elude, deceive, AS. blencan to deceive; akin to Icel. blekkja to impose upon. Prop. a causative of blink to make to wink, to deceive. See Blink, and cf. 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. [Obs.] Though sometimes you do blench from this to that. Shak.

BLENCH Blench, v. t.

1. To baffle; to disconcert; to turn away; -- also, to obstruct; to hinder. [Obs.] 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. [Obs.] He now blenched what before he affirmed. Evelyn.

BLENCH Blench, n.

Defn: A looking aside or askance. [Obs.] These blenches gave my heart another youth. Shak.

BLENCH Blench, v. i. & t. Etym: [See 1st Blanch.]

Defn: To grow or make pale. Barbour.

BLENCHER Blench"er, n.

1. One who, or that which, scares another; specifically, a person stationed to prevent the escape of the deer, at a hunt. See Blancher. [Obs.]

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

BLENCH HOLDING Blench" hold`ing. (Law)

Defn: See Blanch holding.

BLEND Blend, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Blended or Blent; p. pr. & vb. n. Blending.] Etym: [OE. blenden, blanden, AS. blandan to blend, mix; akin to Goth. blandan to mix, Icel. blanda, Sw. blanda, Dan. blande, OHG. 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. [Obs.] Spenser.

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

BLEND Blend, v. i.

Defn: 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, n.

Defn: 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, v. t. Etym: [AS. blendan, from blind blind. See Blind, a.]

Defn: To make blind, literally or figuratively; to dazzle; to deceive. [Obs.] Chaucer.

BLENDE Blende, n. Etym: [G., fr. blenden to blind, dazzle, deceive, fr. blind blind. So called either in allusion to its dazzling luster; or (Dana) because, though often resembling galena, it yields no lead. Cf. 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, n.

Defn: One who, or that which, blends; an instrument, as a brush, used in blending.

BLENDING Blend"ing, n.

1. The act of mingling.

2. (Paint.)

Defn: 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, a.

Defn: Pertaining to, consisting of, or containing, blende.

BLENDWATER Blend"wa`ter, n.

Defn: A distemper incident to cattle, in which their livers are affected. Crabb.

BLENHEIM SPANIEL Blen"heim span"iel. Etym: [So called from Blenheim House, the seat of the duke of Marlborough, in England.]

Defn: A small variety of spaniel, kept as a pet.

BLENK Blenk, v. i.

Defn: To blink; to shine; to look. [Obs.]

BLENNIOID; BLENNIID Blen"ni*oid, Blen"ni*id, a. Etym: [Blenny + -oid] (Zoöl.)

Defn: Of, pertaining to, or resembling, the blennies.

BLENNOGENOUS Blen*nog"e*nous, a. Etym: [Gr. mucus + -genous.]

Defn: Generating mucus.

BLENNORRHEA Blen`nor*rhe"a, n. Etym: [Gr. mucus + to flow.] (Med.) (a) An inordinate secretion and discharge of mucus. (b) Gonorrhea. Dunglison.

BLENNY Blen"ny, n.; pl. Blennies. Etym: [L. blennius, blendius, blendea, Gr. , fr. slime, mucus.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A marine fish of the genus Blennius or family Blenniidæ; -- so called from its coating of mucus. The species are numerous.

BLENT Blent, imp. & p. p. of Blend to mingle.

Defn: Mingled; mixed; blended; also, polluted; stained. Rider and horse, friend, foe, in one red burial blent. Byron.

BLENT Blent, imp. & p. p. of Blend to blind.

Defn: Blinded. Also (Chaucer), 3d sing. pres. Blindeth. [Obs.]

BLEPHARITIS Bleph`a*ri"tis, n. [NL., fr. Gr. eyelid + -ilis.] (Med.)

Defn: Inflammation of the eyelids. -- Bleph`a*rit"ic (#), a.

BLESBOK Bles"bok, n. Etym: [D., fr. bles a white spot on the forehead + bok buck.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A South African antelope (Alcelaphus albifrons), having a large white spot on the forehead.

BLESS Bless, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Blessed or Blest; p. pr. & vb. n. Blessing.] Etym: [OE. blessien, bletsen, AS. bletsian, bledsian, bloedsian, fr. bl blood; prob. 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. [Obs.]

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. [Obs.] And burning blades about their heads do bless. Spenser. Round his armed head his trenchant blade he blest. Fairfax.

Note: 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, a.

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.)

Defn: Beatified.

6. Used euphemistically, ironically, or intensively. Not a blessed man came to set her [a boat] free. R. D. Blackmore.

BLESSEDLY Bless"ed*ly, adv.

Defn: Happily; fortunately; joyfully. We shall blessedly meet again never to depart. Sir P. Sidney.

BLESSEDNESS Bless"ed*ness, n.

Defn: 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.

BLESSED THISTLE Bless"ed this"tle.

Defn: See under Thistle.

BLESSER Bless"er, n.

Defn: One who blesses; one who bestows or invokes a blessing.

BLESSING Bless"ing, n. Etym: [AS. bletsung. See Bless, v. t.]

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.)

Defn: A gift. [A Hebraism] Gen. xxxiii. 11.

5. Grateful praise or worship.

BLEST Blest, a.

Defn: Blessed. "This patriarch blest." Milton. White these blest sounds my ravished ear assail. Trumbull.

BLET Blet, n. Etym: [F. blet, blette, a., soft from over ripeness.]

Defn: A form of decay in fruit which is overripe.

BLETONISM Ble"ton*ism, n.

Defn: The supposed faculty of perceiving subterraneous springs and currents by sensation; -- so called from one Bleton, of France.

BLETTING Blet"ting, n.

Defn: A form of decay seen in fleshy, overripe fruit. Lindley.

BLEW Blew, imp.

Defn: of Blow.

BLEYME Bleyme, n. Etym: [F. bleime.] (Far.)

Defn: An inflammation in the foot of a horse, between the sole and the bone. [Obs.]

BLEYNTE Bleyn"te, imp.

Defn: of Blench. [Obs.] Chaucer.

BLICKEY Blick"ey, n. Etym: [D. blik tin.]

Defn: A tin dinner pail. [Local, U. S.] Bartlett.

BLIGHT Blight, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Blighted; p. pr. & vb. n. Blighting.] Etym: [Perh. contr. from AS. blicettan to glitter, fr. the same root as E. bleak. The meaning "to blight" comes in that case from to glitter, hence, to be white or pale, grow pale, make pale, bleach. Cf. 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, v. i.

Defn: To be affected by blight; to blast; as, this vine never blights.

BLIGHT Blight, n.

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. (Zoöl.)

Defn: 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. pl.

Defn: A rashlike eruption on the human skin. [U. S.]

BLIGHTING Blight"ing, a.

Defn: Causing blight.

BLIGHTINGLY Blight"ing*ly, adv.

Defn: So as to cause blight.

BLIMBI; BLIMBING Blim"bi, Blim"bing, n.

Defn: See Bilimbi, etc.

BLIN Blin, v. t. & i. Etym: [OE. blinnen, AS. blinnan; pref. be- + linnan to cease.]

Defn: To stop; to cease; to desist. [Obs.] Spenser.

BLIN Blin, n. Etym: [AS. blinn.]

Defn: Cessation; end. [Obs.]

BLIND Blind, a. Etym: [AS.; akin to D., G., OS., Sw., & Dan. blind, Icel. 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.)

Defn: 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 (Zoöl.), 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, a. -- 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 (Bot.), 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 (Zoöl.), 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.

BLIND Blind, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Blinded; p. pr. & vb. n. Blinding.]

1. To make blind; to deprive of sight or discernment. "To blind the truth and me." Tennyson. A blind guide is certainly a great mischief; but a guide that blinds those whom he should lead is . . . a much greater. South.

2. To deprive partially of vision; to make vision difficult for and painful to; to dazzle. Her beauty all the rest did blind. P. Fletcher.

3. To darken; to obscure to the eye or understanding; to conceal; to deceive. Such darkness blinds the sky. Dryden. The state of the controversy between us he endeavored, with all his art, to blind and confound. Stillingfleet.

4. To cover with a thin coating of sand and fine gravel; as a road newly paved, in order that the joints between the stones may be filled.

BLIND Blind, n.

1. Something to hinder sight or keep out light; a screen; a cover; esp. a hinged screen or shutter for a window; a blinder for a horse.

2. Something to mislead the eye or the understanding, or to conceal some covert deed or design; a subterfuge.

3. Etym: [Cf. F. blindes, pblende, fr. blenden to blind, fr. blind blind.] (Mil.)

Defn: A blindage. See Blindage.

4. A halting place. [Obs.] Dryden.

BLIND; BLINDE Blind, Blinde, n.

Defn: See Blende.

BLINDAGE Blind"age, n. Etym: [Cf. F. blindage.] (Mil.)

Defn: A cover or protection for an advanced trench or approach, formed of fascines and earth supported by a framework.

BLINDER Blind"er, n.

1. One who, or that which, blinds.

2. (Saddlery)

Defn: One of the leather screens on a bridle, to hinder a horse from seeing objects at the side; a blinker.

BLINDFISH Blind"fish` (, n.

Defn: A small fish (Amblyopsis spelæus) destitute of eyes, found in the waters of the Mammoth Cave, in Kentucky. Related fishes from other caves take the same name.

BLINDFOLD Blind"fold`, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Blindfolded; p. pr. & vb. n. Blindfolding.] Etym: [OE. blindfolden, blindfelden, blindfellen; AS. blind blind + prob. fellan, fyllan, to fell, strike down.]

Defn: To cover the eyes of, as with a bandage; to hinder from seeing. And when they had blindfolded him, they struck him on the face. Luke xxii. 64.

BLINDFOLD Blind"fold`, a.

Defn: Having the eyes covered; blinded; having the mental eye darkened. Hence: Heedless; reckless; as, blindfold zeal; blindfold fury. Fate's blindfold reign the atheist loudly owns. Dryden.

BLINDING Blind"ing, a.

Defn: Making blind or as if blind; depriving of sight or of understanding; obscuring; as, blinding tears; blinding snow.

BLINDING Blind"ing, n.

Defn: A thin coating of sand and fine gravel over a newly paved road. See Blind, v. t., 4.

BLINDLY Blind"ly, adv.

Defn: Without sight, discernment, or understanding; without thought, investigation, knowledge, or purpose of one's own. By his imperious mistress blindly led. Dryden.

BLINDMAN'S BUFF Blind"man's buff" (. Etym: [See Buff a buffet.]

Defn: A play in which one person is blindfolded, and tries to catch some one of the company and tell who it is. Surely he fancies I play at blindman's buff with him, for he thinks I never have my eyes open. Stillingfleet.

BLINDMAN'S HOLIDAY Blind`man's hol"i*day.

Defn: The time between daylight and candle light. [Humorous]

BLINDNESS Blind"ness, n.

Defn: State or condition of being blind, literally or figuratively. Darwin. Color blindness, inability to distinguish certain color. See Daltonism.

BLIND READER Blind reader.

Defn: A post-office clerk whose duty is to decipher obscure addresses.

BLINDSTORY Blind"sto`ry, n. (Arch.)

Defn: The triforium as opposed to the clearstory.

BLINDWORM Blind"worm`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A small, burrowing, snakelike, limbless lizard (Anguis fragilis), with minute eyes, popularly believed to be blind; the slowworm; -- formerly a name for the adder. Newts and blindworms do no wrong. Shak.

BLINK Blink, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Blinked; p. pr. & vb. n. Blinking.] Etym: [OE. blenken; akin to dan. blinke, Sw. blinka, G. blinken to shine, glance, wink, twinkle, D. blinken to shine; and prob. to D. blikken to glance, twinkle, G. blicken to look, glance, AS. blican to shine, E. bleak. sq. root98. See Bleak; cf. 1st Blench.]

1. To wink; to twinkle with, or as with, the eye. One eye was blinking, and one leg was lame. Pope

2. To see with the eyes half shut, or indistinctly and with frequent winking, as a person with weak eyes. Show me thy chink, to blink through with mine eyne. Shak.

3. To shine, esp. with intermittent light; to twinkle; to flicker; to glimmer, as a lamp. The dew was falling fast, the stars began to blink. Wordsworth. The sun blinked fair on pool and stream . Sir W. Scott.

4. To turn slightly sour, as beer, mild, etc.

BLINK Blink, v. t.

1. To shut out of sight; to avoid, or purposely evade; to shirk; as, to blink the question.

2. To trick; to deceive. [Scot.] Jamieson.

BLINK Blink, n. Etym: [OE. blink. See Blink, v. i. ]

1. A glimpse or glance. This is the first blink that ever I had of him. Bp. Hall.

2. Gleam; glimmer; sparkle. Sir W. Scott. Not a blink of light was there. Wordsworth.

3. (Naut.)

Defn: The dazzling whiteness about the horizon caused by the reflection of light from fields of ice at sea; ice blink.

4. pl. Etym: [Cf. Blencher.] (Sporting)

Defn: Boughs cast where deer are to pass, to turn or check them. [Prov. Eng.]

BLINKARD Blink"ard, n. Etym: [Blind + -ard.]

1. One who blinks with, or as with, weak eyes. Among the blind the one-eyed blinkard reigns. Marvell.

2. That which twinkles or glances, as a dim star, which appears and disappears. Hakewill.

BLINK BEER Blink" beer` (

Defn: Beer kept unbroached until it is sharp. Crabb.

BLINKER Blink"er, n.

1. One who, or that which, blinks.

2. A blinder for horses; a flap of leather on a horse's bridle to prevent him from seeing objects as his side hence, whatever obstructs sight or discernment. Nor bigots who but one way see, through blinkers of authority. M. Green.

3. pl.

Defn: A kind of goggles, used to protect the eyes form glare, etc.

BLINK-EYED Blink"-eyed` (, a.

Defn: Habitually winking. Marlowe.

BLIRT Blirt, n. (Naut.)

Defn: A gust of wind and rain. Ham. Nav. Encyc.

BLISS Bliss, n.; pl. Blisses. Etym: [OE. blis, blisse, AS. blis, bli, fr. bli blithe. See Blithe.]

Defn: Orig., blithesomeness; gladness; now, the highest degree of happiness; blessedness; exalted felicity; heavenly joy. An then at last our bliss Full and perfect is. Milton.

Syn. -- Blessedness; felicity; beatitude; happiness; joy; enjoyment. See Happiness.

BLISSFUL Bliss"ful, a.

Defn: Full of, characterized by, or causing, joy and felicity; happy in the highest degree. "Blissful solitude." Milton. -- Bliss"ful*ly, adv. -- Bliss"ful*ness, n.

BLISSLESS Bliss"less, a.

Defn: Destitute of bliss. Sir P. Sidney.

BLISSOM Blis"som, v. i. Etym: [For blithesome: but cf. also Icel. bl of a goat at heat.]

Defn: To be lustful; to be lascivious. [Obs.]

BLISSOM Blis"som, a.

Defn: Lascivious; also, in heat; -- said of ewes.

BLISTER Blis"ter, n. Etym: [OE.; akin to OD. bluyster, fr. the same root as blast, bladder, blow. See Blow to eject wind.]

1. A vesicle of the skin, containing watery matter or serum, whether occasioned by a burn or other injury, or by a vesicatory; a collection of serous fluid causing a bladderlike elevation of the cuticle. And painful blisters swelled my tender hands. Grainger.

2. Any elevation made by the separation of the film or skin, as on plants; or by the swelling of the substance at the surface, as on steel.

3. A vesicatory; a plaster of Spanish flies, or other matter, applied to raise a blister. Dunglison. Blister beetle, a beetle used to raise blisters, esp. the Lytta (or Cantharis) vesicatoria, called Cantharis or Spanish fly by druggists. See Cantharis. -- Blister fly, a blister beetle. -- Blister plaster, a plaster designed to raise a blister; -- usually made of Spanish flies. -- Blister steel, crude steel formed from wrought iron by cementation; -- so called because of its blistered surface. Called also blistered steel. -- Blood blister. See under Blood.

BLISTER Blis"ter, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Blistered; p. pr. & vb. n. Blistering.]

Defn: To be affected with a blister or blisters; to have a blister form on. Let my tongue blister. Shak.

BLISTER Blis"ter, v. t.

1. To raise a blister or blisters upon. My hands were blistered. Franklin.

2. To give pain to, or to injure, as if by a blister. This tyrant, whose sole name blisters our tongue. Shak.

BLISTERY Blis"ter*y, a.

Defn: Full of blisters. Hooker.

BLITE Blite, n. Etym: [L. blitum, Gr. .] (Bot.)

Defn: A genus of herbs (Blitum) with a fleshy calyx. Blitum capitatum is the strawberry blite.

BLITHE Blithe, a. Etym: [AS. bli blithe, kind; akin to Goth. blei kind, Icel. bli mild, gentle, Dan. & Sw. blid gentle, D. blijd blithe, OHG. blidi kind, blithe.]

Defn: Gay; merry; sprightly; joyous; glad; cheerful; as, a blithe spirit. The blithe sounds of festal music. Prescott. A daughter fair, So buxom, blithe, and debonair. Milton.

BLITHEFUL Blithe"ful, a.

Defn: Gay; full of gayety; joyous.

BLITHELY Blithe"ly, adv.

Defn: In a blithe manner.

BLITHENESS Blithe"ness, n.

Defn: The state of being blithe. Chaucer.

BLITHESOME Blithe"some, a.

Defn: Cheery; gay; merry. The blithesome sounds of wassail gay. Sir W. Scott. -- Blithe"some*ly, adv. -- Blithe"some*ness, n.

BLIVE Blive, adv. Etym: [A contraction of Belive.]

Defn: Quickly; forthwith. [Obs.] Chaucer.

BLIZZARD Bliz"zard, n. Etym: [Cf. Blaze to flash. Formerly, in local use, a rattling volley; cf. "to blaze away" to fire away.]

Defn: A gale of piercingly cold wind, usually accompanied with fine and blinding snow; a furious blast. [U. S.]

BLOAT Bloat, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bloated; p. pr. & vb. n. Bloating.] Etym: [Cf. Icel. blotna to become soft, blautr soft, wet, Sw. blöt soft, blöta to soak; akin to G. bloss bare, and AS. bleát wretched; or perh. fr. root of Eng. 5th blow. Cf. Blote.]

1. To make turgid, as with water or air; to cause a swelling of the surface of, from effusion of serum in the cellular tissue, producing a morbid enlargement, often accompanied with softness.

2. To inflate; to puff up; to make vain. Dryden.

BLOAT Bloat, v. i.

Defn: To grow turgid as by effusion of liquid in the cellular tissue; to puff out; to swell. Arbuthnot.

BLOAT Bloat, a.

Defn: Bloated. [R.] Shak.

BLOAT Bloat, n.

Defn: A term of contempt for a worthless, dissipated fellow. [Slang]

BLOAT Bloat, v. t.

Defn: To dry (herrings) in smoke. See Blote.

BLOATED Bloat"ed, p. a.

Defn: Distended beyond the natural or usual size, as by the presence of water, serum, etc.; turgid; swollen; as, a bloated face. Also, puffed up with pride; pompous.

BLOATEDNESS Bloat"ed*ness, n.

Defn: The state of being bloated.

BLOATER Bloat"er, n. Etym: [See Bloat, Blote.]

Defn: The common herring, esp. when of large size, smoked, and half dried; -- called also bloat herring.

BLOB Blob, n. Etym: [See Bleb.]

1. Something blunt and round; a small drop or lump of something viscid or thick; a drop; a bubble; a blister. Wright.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A small fresh-water fish (Uranidea Richardsoni); the miller's thumb.

BLOBBER Blob"ber, n. Etym: [See Blubber, Blub.]

Defn: A bubble; blubber. [Low] T. Carew. Blobber lip, a thick, protruding lip. His blobber lips and beetle brows commend. Dryden.

BLOBBER-LIPPED Blob"ber-lipped`, a.

Defn: Having thick lips. "A blobber-lipped shell." Grew.

BLOCAGE Blo*cage", n. Etym: [F.] (Arch.)

Defn: The roughest and cheapest sort of rubblework, in masonry.

BLOCK Block, n. Etym: [OE. blok; cf. F. bloc (fr. OHG.), D. & Dan. blok, Sw. & G. block, OHG. bloch. There is also an OHG. bloch, biloh; bi by + the same root as that of E. lock. Cf. Block, v. t., Blockade, and see Lock.]

1. A piece of wood more or less bulky; a solid mass of wood, stone, etc., usually with one or more plane, or approximately plane, faces; as, a block on which a butcher chops his meat; a block by which to mount a horse; children's playing blocks, etc. Now all our neighbors' chimneys smoke, And Christmas blocks are burning. Wither. All her labor was but as a block Left in the quarry. Tennyson.

2. The solid piece of wood on which condemned persons lay their necks when they are beheaded. Noble heads which have been brought to the block. E. Everett.

3. The wooden mold on which hats, bonnets, etc., are shaped. Hence: The pattern on shape of a hat. He wears his faith but as the fashion of his hat; it ever changes with the next block. Shak.

4. A large or long building divided into separate houses or shops, or a number of houses or shops built in contact with each other so as to form one building; a row of houses or shops.

5. A square, or portion of a city inclosed by streets, whether occupied by buildings or not. The new city was laid out in rectangular blocks, each block containing thirty building lots. Such an average block, comprising 282 houses and covering nine acres of ground, exists in Oxford Street. Lond. Quart. Rev.

6. A grooved pulley or sheave incased in a frame or shell which is provided with a hook, eye, or strap, by which it may be attached to an object. It is used to change the direction of motion, as in raising a heavy object that can not be conveniently reached, and also, when two or more such sheaves are compounded, to change the rate of motion, or to exert increased force; -- used especially in the rigging of ships, and in tackles.

7. (Falconry)

Defn: The perch on which a bird of prey is kept.

8. Any obstruction, or cause of obstruction; a stop; a hindrance; an obstacle; as, a block in the way.

9. A piece of box or other wood for engravers' work.

10. (Print.)

Defn: A piece of hard wood (as mahogany or cherry) on which a stereotype or electrotype plate is mounted to make it type high.

11. A blockhead; a stupid fellow; a dolt. [Obs.] What a block art thou ! Shak.

12. A section of a railroad where the block system is used. See Block system, below. A block of shares (Stock Exchange), a large number of shares in a stock company, sold in a lump. Bartlett. -- Block printing. (a) A mode of printing (common in China and Japan) from engraved boards by means of a sheet of paper laid on the linked surface and rubbed with a brush. S. W. Williams. (b) A method of printing cotton cloth and paper hangings with colors, by pressing them upon an engraved surface coated with coloring matter. -- Block system on railways, a system by which the track is divided into sections of three or four miles, and trains are so run by the guidance of electric signals that no train enters a section or block before the preceding train has left it.

BLOCK Block, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Blocked; p. pr. & vb. n. Blocking.] Etym: [Cf. F. bloquer, fr. bloc block. See Block, n.]

1. To obstruct so as to prevent passage or progress; to prevent passage from, through, or into, by obstructing the way; -- used both of persons and things; -- often followed by up; as, to block up a road or harbor. With moles . . . would block the port. Rowe. A city . . . besieged and blocked about. Milton.

2. To secure or support by means of blocks; to secure, as two boards at their angles of intersection, by pieces of wood glued to each.

3. To shape on, or stamp with, a block; as, to block a hat. To block out, to begin to reduce to shape; to mark out roughly; to lay out; as, to block out a plan.

BLOCKADE Block*ade", n. Etym: [Cf. It. bloccata. See Block, v. t. ]

1. The shutting up of a place by troops or ships, with the purpose of preventing ingress or egress, or the reception of supplies; as, the blockade of the ports of an enemy.

Note: Blockade is now usually applied to an investment with ships or vessels, while siege is used of an investment by land forces. To constitute a blockade, the investing power must be able to apply its force to every point of practicable access, so as to render it dangerous to attempt to enter; and there is no blockade of that port where its force can not be brought to bear. Kent.

2. An obstruction to passage. To raise a blockade. See under Raise.

BLOCKADE Block*ade", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Blockaded; p. pr. & vb. n. Blockading.]

1. To shut up, as a town or fortress, by investing it with troops or vessels or war for the purpose of preventing ingress or egress, or the introduction of supplies. See note under Blockade, n. "Blockaded the place by sea." Gilpin.

2. Hence, to shut in so as to prevent egress. Till storm and driving ice blockade him there. Wordsworth.

3. To obstruct entrance to or egress from. Huge bales of British cloth blockade the door. Pope.

BLOCKADER Block*ad"er, n.

1. One who blockades.

2. (Naut.)

Defn: A vessel employed in blockading.

BLOCKAGE Block"age, n.

Defn: The act of blocking up; the state of being blocked up.

BLOCK BOOK Block" book` (.

Defn: A book printed from engraved wooden blocks instead of movable types.

BLOCK CHAIN Block chain. (Mach.)

Defn: A chain in which the alternate links are broad blocks connected by thin side links pivoted to the ends of the blocks, used with sprocket wheels to transmit power, as in a bicycle.

BLOCKHEAD Block"head` (, n. Etym: [Block + head.]

Defn: A stupid fellow; a dolt; a person deficient in understanding. The bookful blockhead, ignorantly read, With loads of learned lumber in his head. Pope.

BLOCKHEADED Block"head`ed, a.

Defn: Stupid; dull.

BLOCKHEADISM Block"head*ism, n.

Defn: That which characterizes a blockhead; stupidity. Carlyle.

BLOCKHOUSE Block"house` (, n. Etym: [Block + house: cf. G. blockhaus.]

1. (Mil.)

Defn: An edifice or structure of heavy timbers or logs for military defense, having its sides loopholed for musketry, and often an upper story projecting over the lower, or so placed upon it as to have its sides make an angle with the sides of the lower story, thus enabling the defenders to fire downward, and in all directions; -- formerly much used in America and Germany.

2. A house of squared logs. [West. & South. U. S.]

BLOCKING Block"ing, n.

1. The act of obstructing, supporting, shaping, or stamping with a block or blocks.

2. Blocks used to support (a building, etc.) temporarily.

BLOCKING COURSE Block"ing course` (. (Arch.)

Defn: The finishing course of a wall showing above a cornice.

BLOCKISH Block"ish, a.

Defn: Like a block; deficient in understanding; stupid; dull. "Blockish Ajax." Shak. -- Block"ish*ly, adv. -- Block"ish*ness, n.

BLOCKLIKE Block"like` (, a.

Defn: Like a block; stupid.

BLOCK SIGNAL Block signal. (Railroads)

Defn: One of the danger signals or safety signals which guide the movement of trains in a block system. The signal is often so coupled with a switch that act of opening or closing the switch operates the signal also.

BLOCK SYSTEM Block system. (Railroads)

Defn: A system by which the track is divided into short sections, as of three or four miles, and trains are so run by the guidance of electric, or combined electric and pneumatic, signals that no train enters a section or block until the preceding train has left it, as in absolute blocking, or that a train may be allowed to follow another into a block as long as it proceeds with excessive caution, as in permissive blocking.

BLOCK TIN Block" tin` (.

Defn: See under Tin.

BLOEDITE Bloe"dite, n. Etym: [From the chemist Blöde.] (Min.)

Defn: A hydrous sulphate of magnesium and sodium.

BLOLLY Blol"ly, n. (Bot.) (a) A shrub or small tree of southern Florida and the West Indies (Pisonia obtusata) with smooth oval leaves and a hard, 10-ribbed fruit. (b) The rubiaceous shrub Chicocca racemosa, of the same region.

BLOMARY Blom"a*ry, n.

Defn: See Bloomery.

BLONCKET; BLONKET Blonc"ket, Blon"ket, a. Etym: [OF. blanquet whitish, dim. of blanc white. Cf. Blanket.]

Defn: Gray; bluish gray. [Obs.] Our bloncket liveries been all too sad. Spenser.

BLOND; BLONDE Blond, Blonde, a. Etym: [F., fair, light, of uncertain origin; cf. AS. blonden-feax gray-haired, old, prop. blended-haired, as a mixture of white and brown or black. See Blend, v. t. ]

Defn: Of a fair color; light-colored; as, blond hair; a blond complexion.

BLONDE Blonde, n. Etym: [F.]

1. A person of very fair complexion, with light hair and light blue eyes. [Written also blond.]

2. Etym: [So called from its color.]

Defn: A kind of silk lace originally of the color of raw silk, now sometimes dyed; -- called also blond lace.

BLOND METAL Blond" met`al.

Defn: A variety of clay ironstone, in Staffordshire, England, used for making tools.

BLONDNESS Blond"ness, n.

Defn: The state of being blond. G. Eliot.