Chapter XLVIII: Appendix: Vermiformis (27)

BLOOD Blood, n. Etym: [OE. blod, blood, AS. bl; akin to D. bloed, OHG. bluot, G. blut, Goth, bl, Sw. & Dan. blod; prob. fr. the same root as E. blow to bloom. See Blow to bloom.]

1. The fluid which circulates in the principal vascular system of animals, carrying nourishment to all parts of the body, and bringing away waste products to be excreted. See under Arterial.

Note: The blood consists of a liquid, the plasma, containing minute particles, the blood corpuscles. In the invertebrate animals it is usually nearly colorless, and contains only one kind of corpuscles; but in all vertebrates, except Amphioxus, it contains some colorless corpuscles, with many more which are red and give the blood its uniformly red color. See Corpuscle, Plasma.

2. Relationship by descent from a common ancestor; consanguinity; kinship. To share the blood of Saxon royalty. Sir W. Scott. A friend of our own blood. Waller. Half blood (Law), relationship through only one parent. -- Whole blood, relationship through both father and mother. In American Law, blood includes both half blood, and whole blood. Bouvier. Peters.

3. Descent; lineage; especially, honorable birth; the highest royal lineage. Give us a prince of blood, a son of Priam. Shak. I am a gentleman of blood and breeding. Shak.

4. (Stock Breeding)

Defn: Descent from parents of recognized breed; excellence or purity of breed.

Note: In stock breeding half blood is descent showing one half only of pure breed. Blue blood, full blood, or warm blood, is the same as blood.

5. The fleshy nature of man. Nor gives it satisfaction to our blood. Shak.

6. The shedding of blood; the taking of life, murder; manslaughter; destruction. So wills the fierce, avenging sprite, Till blood for blood atones. Hood.

7. A bloodthirsty or murderous disposition. [R.] He was a thing of blood, whose every motion Was timed with dying cries. Shak.

8. Temper of mind; disposition; state of the passions; -- as if the blood were the seat of emotions. When you perceive his blood inclined to mirth. Shak.

Note: Often, in this sense, accompanied with bad, cold, warm, or other qualifying word. Thus, to commit an act in cold blood, is to do it deliberately, and without sudden passion; to do it in bad blood, is to do it in anger. Warm blood denotes a temper inflamed or irritated. To warm or heat the blood is to excite the passions. Qualified by up, excited feeling or passion is signified; as, my blood was up.

9. A man of fire or spirit; a fiery spark; a gay, showy man; a rake. Seest thou not . . . how giddily 'a turns about all the hot bloods between fourteen and five and thirty Shak. It was the morning costume of a dandy or blood. Thackeray.

10. The juice of anything, especially if red. He washed . . . his clothes in the blood of grapes. Gen. xiix. 11.

Note: Blood is often used as an adjective, and as the first part of self-explaining compound words; as, blood-bespotted, blood-bought, blood-curdling, blood-dyed, blood-red, blood-spilling, blood-stained, blood-warm, blood-won. Blood baptism (Eccl. Hist.), the martyrdom of those who had not been baptized. They were considered as baptized in blood, and this was regarded as a full substitute for literal baptism. -- Blood blister, a blister or bleb containing blood or bloody serum, usually caused by an injury. -- Blood brother, brother by blood or birth. -- Blood clam (Zoöl.), a bivalve mollusk of the genus Arca and allied genera, esp. Argina pexata of the American coast. So named from the color of its flesh. -- Blood corpuscle. See Corpuscle. -- Blood crystal (Physiol.), one of the crystals formed by the separation in a crystalline form of the hæmoglobin of the red blood corpuscles; hæmatocrystallin. All blood does not yield blood crystals. -- Blood heat, heat equal to the temperature of human blood, or about 98½ º Fahr. -- Blood horse, a horse whose blood or lineage is derived from the purest and most highly prized origin or stock. -- Blood money. See in the Vocabulary. -- Blood orange, an orange with dark red pulp. -- Blood poisoning (Med.), a morbid state of the blood caused by the introduction of poisonous or infective matters from without, or the absorption or retention of such as are produced in the body itself; toxæmia. -- Blood pudding, a pudding made of blood and other materials. -- Blood relation, one connected by blood or descent. -- Blood spavin. See under Spavin. -- Blood vessel. See in the Vocabulary. -- Blue blood, the blood of noble or aristocratic families, which, according to a Spanish prover , has in it a tinge of blue; -- hence, a member of an old and aristocratic family. -- Flesh and blood. (a) A blood relation, esp. a child. (b) Human nature. -- In blood (Hunting), in a state of perfect health and vigor. Shak. -- To let blood. See under Let. -- Prince of the blood, the son of a sovereign, or the issue of a royal family. The sons, brothers, and uncles of the sovereign are styled princes of the blood royal; and the daughters, sisters, and aunts are princesses of the blood royal.

BLOOD Blood, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Blooded; p. pr. & vb. n. Blooding.]

1. To bleed. [Obs.] Cowper.

2. To stain, smear or wet, with blood. [Archaic] Reach out their spears afar, And blood their points. Dryden.

3. To give (hounds or soldiers) a first taste or sight of blood, as in hunting or war. It was most important too that his troops should be blooded. Macaulay.

4. To heat the blood of; to exasperate. [Obs.] The auxiliary forces of the French and English were much blooded one against another. Bacon.

BLOODBIRD Blood"bird` (, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: An Australian honeysucker (Myzomela sanguineolata); -- so called from the bright red color of the male bird.

BLOOD-BOLTERED Blood"-bol`tered, a. Etym: [Blood + Prov. E. bolter to mat in tufts. Cf. Balter.]

Defn: Having the hair matted with clotted blood. [Obs. & R.] The blood-boltered Banquo smiles upon me. Shak.

BLOODED Blood"ed, a.

Defn: Having pure blood, or a large admixture or pure blood; of approved breed; of the best stock.

Note: Used also in composition in phrases indicating a particular condition or quality of blood; as, cold-blooded; warm-blooded.

BLOODFLOWER Blood"flow`er, n. Etym: [From the color of the flower.] (Bot.)

Defn: A genus of bulbous plants, natives of Southern Africa, named Hæmanthus, of the Amaryllis family. The juice of H. toxicarius is used by the Hottentots to poison their arrows.

BLOODGUILTY Blood"guilt`y, a.

Defn: Guilty of murder or bloodshed. "A bloodguilty life." Fairfax. -- Blood"guilt`i*ness (, n. -- Blood"guilt`less, a.

BLOODHOUND Blood"hound` (, n.

Defn: A breed of large and powerful dogs, with long, smooth, and pendulous ears, and remarkable for acuteness of smell. It is employed to recover game or prey which has escaped wounded from a hunter, and for tracking criminals. Formerly it was used for pursuing runaway slaves. Other varieties of dog are often used for the same purpose and go by the same name. The Cuban bloodhound is said to be a variety of the mastiff.

BLOODILY Blood"i*ly, adv.

Defn: In a bloody manner; cruelly; with a disposition to shed blood.

BLOODINESS Blood"i*ness, n.

1. The state of being bloody.

2. Disposition to shed blood; bloodthirstiness. All that bloodiness and savage cruelty which was in our nature. Holland.

BLOODLESS Blood"less, a. Etym: [AS. bl.]

1. Destitute of blood, or apparently so; as, bloodless cheeks; lifeless; dead. The bloodless carcass of my Hector sold. Dryden.

2. Not attended with shedding of blood, or slaughter; as, a bloodless victory. Froude.

3. Without spirit or activity. Thou bloodless remnant of that royal blood ! Shak. -- Blood"less*ly, adv. -- Blood"less*ness, n.

BLOODLET Blood"let` (, v. t. Etym: [AS. bl; bl blood + l to let.]

Defn: bleed; to let blood. Arbuthnot.

BLOODLETTER Blood"let`ter, n.

Defn: One who, or that which, lets blood; a phlebotomist.

BLOODLETTING Blood"let`ting, n. (Med.)

Defn: The act or process of letting blood or bleeding, as by opening a vein or artery, or by cupping or leeches; -- esp. applied to venesection.

BLOOD MONEY Blood" mon`ey.

1. Money paid to the next of kin of a person who has been killed by another.

2. Money obtained as the price, or at the cost, of another's life; -- said of a reward for supporting a capital charge, of money obtained for betraying a fugitive or for committing murder, or of money obtained from the sale of that which will destroy the purchaser.

BLOODROOT Blood"root` (, n. (Bot.)

Defn: A plant (Sanguinaria Canadensis), with a red root and red sap, and bearing a pretty, white flower in early spring; -- called also puccoon, redroot, bloodwort, tetterwort, turmeric, and Indian paint. It has acrid emetic properties, and the rootstock is used as a stimulant expectorant. See Sanguinaria.

Note: In England the name is given to the tormentil, once used as a remedy for dysentery.

BLOODSHED Blood"shed` (, n. Etym: [Blood + shed]

Defn: The shedding or spilling of blood; slaughter; the act of shedding human blood, or taking life, as in war, riot, or murder.

BLOODSHEDDER Blood"shed`der, n.

Defn: One who sheds blood; a manslayer; a murderer.

BLOODSHEDDING Blood"shed`ding, n.

Defn: Bloodshed. Shak.

BLOODSHOT Blood"shot` (, a. Etym: [Blood + shot, p. p. of shoot to variegate.]

Defn: Red and inflamed; suffused with blood, or having the vessels turgid with blood, as when the conjunctiva is inflamed or irritated. His eyes were bloodshot, . . . and his hair disheveled. Dickens.

BLOOD-SHOTTEN Blood"-shot`ten, a.

Defn: Bloodshot. [Obs.]

BLOODSTICK Blood"stick", n. (Far.)

Defn: A piece of hard wood loaded at one end with lead, and used to strike the fleam into the vein. Youatt.

BLOODSTONE Blood"stone` (, n. (Min.) (a) A green siliceous stone sprinkled with red jasper, as if with blood; hence the name; -- called also heliotrope. (b) Hematite, an ore of iron yielding a blood red powder or "streak."

BLOODSTROKE Blood"stroke` (, n. Etym: [Cf. F. coup de sang.]

Defn: Loss of sensation and motion from hemorrhage or congestion in the brain. Dunglison.

BLOODSUCKER Blood"suck`er, n.

1. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any animal that sucks blood; esp., the leech (Hirudo medicinalis), and related species.

2. One who sheds blood; a cruel, bloodthirsty man; one guilty of bloodshed; a murderer. [Obs.] Shak.

3. A hard and exacting master, landlord, or money lender; an extortioner.

BLOODTHIRSTY Blood"thirst`y, a.

Defn: Eager to shed blood; cruel; sanguinary; murderous. -- Blood"thirst`i*ness (n.

BLOODULF Blood"ulf, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The European bullfinch.

BLOOD VESSEL Blood" ves`sel. (Anat.)

Defn: Any vessel or canal in which blood circulates in an animal, as an artery or vein.

BLOODWITE; BLOODWIT Blood"wite`, Blood"wit` (, n. Etym: [AS. bl; bl blood, + wite wite, fine.] (Anc. Law)

Defn: A fine or amercement paid as a composition for the shedding of blood; also, a riot wherein blood was spilled.

BLOODWOOD Blood"wood, n. (Bot.)

Defn: A tree having the wood or the sap of the color of blood.

Note: Norfolk Island bloodwood is a euphorbiaceous tree (Baloghia lucida), from which the sap is collected for use as a plant. Various other trees have the name, chiefly on account of the color of the wood, as Gordonia Hæmatoxylon of Jamaica, and several species of Australian Eucalyptus; also the true logwood ( Hæmatoxylon campechianum).

BLOODWORT Blood"wort` (, n. (Bot.)

Defn: A plant, Rumex sanguineus, or bloody-veined dock. The name is applied also to bloodroot (Sanguinaria Canadensis), and to an extensive order of plants (Hæmodoraceæ), the roots of many species of which contain a red coloring matter useful in dyeing.

BLOODY Blood"y, a. Etym: [AS. bl.]

1. Containing or resembling blood; of the nature of blood; as, bloody excretions; bloody sweat.

2. Smeared or stained with blood; as, bloody hands; a bloody handkerchief.

3. Given, or tending, to the shedding of blood; having a cruel, savage disposition; murderous; cruel. Some bloody passion shakes your very frame. Shak.

4. Attended with, or involving, bloodshed; sanguinary; esp., marked by great slaughter or cruelty; as, a bloody battle.

5. Infamous; contemptible; -- variously used for mere emphasis or as a low epithet. [Vulgar] Thackeray.

BLOODY Blood"y, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bloodied (; p. pr. & vb. n. Bloodying.]

Defn: To stain with blood. Overbury.

BLOODYBONES Blood"y*bones` (, n.

Defn: A terrible bugbear.

BLOODY FLUX Blood"y flux`.

Defn: The dysentery, a disease in which the flux or discharge from the bowels has a mixture of blood. Arbuthnot.

BLOODY HAND Blood"y hand` (.

1. A hand stained with the blood of a deer, which, in the old forest laws of England, was sufficient evidence of a man's trespass in the forest against venison. Jacob.

2. (Her.)

Defn: A red hand, as in the arms of Ulster, which is now the distinguishing mark of a baronet of the United Kingdom.

BLOODY-MINDED Blood"y-mind"ed, a.

Defn: Having a cruel, ferocious disposition; bloodthirsty. Dryden.

BLOODY SWEAT Blood"y sweat` (.

Defn: A sweat accompanied by a discharge of blood; a disease, called sweating sickness, formerly prevalent in England and other countries.

BLOOM Bloom, n. Etym: [OE. blome, fr. Icel. bl, bl; akin to Sw. blom, Goth. bl, OS. bl, D. bloem, OHG. bluomo, bluoma, G. blume; fr. the same root as AS. bl to blow, blossom. See Blow to bloom, and cf. Blossom.]

1. A blossom; the flower of a plant; an expanded bud; flowers, collectively. The rich blooms of the tropics. Prescott.

2. The opening of flowers in general; the state of blossoming or of having the flowers open; as, the cherry trees are in bloom. "Sight of vernal bloom." Milton.

3. A state or time of beauty, freshness, and vigor; an opening to higher perfection, analogous to that of buds into blossoms; as, the bloom of youth. Every successive mother has transmitted a fainter bloom, a more delicate and briefer beauty. Hawthorne.

4. The delicate, powdery coating upon certain growing or newly- gathered fruits or leaves, as on grapes, plums, etc. Hence: Anything giving an appearance of attractive freshness; a flush; a glow. A new, fresh, brilliant world, with all the bloom upon it. Thackeray.

5. The clouded appearance which varnish sometimes takes upon the surface of a picture.

6. A yellowish deposit or powdery coating which appears on well- tanned leather. Knight.

7. (Min.)

Defn: A popular term for a bright-hued variety of some minerals; as, the rose-red cobalt bloom.

BLOOM Bloom, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Bloomed; p. pr. & vb. n. Blooming.]

1. To produce or yield blossoms; to blossom; to flower or be in flower. A flower which once In Paradise, fast by the tree of life, Began to bloom. Milton.

2. To be in a state of healthful, growing youth and vigor; to show beauty and freshness, as of flowers; to give promise, as by or with flowers. A better country blooms to view, Beneath a brighter sky. Logan.

BLOOM Bloom, v. t.

1. To cause to blossom; to make flourish. [R.] Charitable affection bloomed them. Hooker.

2. To bestow a bloom upon; to make blooming or radiant. [R.] Milton. While barred clouds bloom the soft-dying day. Keats.

BLOOM Bloom, n. Etym: [AS. bl a mass or lump, isenes bl a lump or wedge of iron.] (Metal.) (a) A mass of wrought iron from the Catalan forge or from the puddling furnace, deprived of its dross, and shaped usually in the form of an oblong block by shingling. (b) A large bar of steel formed directly from an ingot by hammering or rolling, being a preliminary shape for further working.

BLOOMARY Bloom"a*ry, n.

Defn: See Bloomery.

BLOOMER Bloom"er, n. Etym: [From Mrs. Bloomer, an American, who sought to introduce this style of dress.]

1. A costume for women, consisting of a short dress, with loose trousers gathered round ankles, and (commonly) a broad-brimmed hat.

2. A woman who wears a Bloomer costume.

BLOOMERY Bloom"er*y, n. (Manuf.)

Defn: A furnace and forge in which wrought iron in the form of blooms is made directly from the ore, or (more rarely) from cast iron.

BLOOMING Bloom"ing, n. (Metal.)

Defn: The process of making blooms from the ore or from cast iron.

BLOOMING Bloom"ing, a.

1. Opening in blossoms; flowering.

2. Thriving in health, beauty, and vigor; indicating the freshness and beauties of youth or health.

BLOOMINGLY Bloom"ing*ly, adv.

Defn: In a blooming manner.

BLOOMINGNESS Bloom"ing*ness, n.

Defn: A blooming condition.

BLOOMLESS Bloom"less, a.

Defn: Without bloom or flowers. Shelley.

BLOOMY Bloom"y, a.

1. Full of bloom; flowery; flourishing with the vigor of youth; as, a bloomy spray. But all the bloomy flush of life is fled. Goldsmith.

2. Covered with bloom, as fruit. Dryden.

BLOOTH Blooth, n.

Defn: Bloom; a blossoming. [Prov. Eng.] All that blooth means heavy autumn work for him and his hands. T. Hardy.

BLORE Blore, n. Etym: [Perh. a variant of blare, v. i.; or cf. Gael. & Ir. blor a loud noise.]

Defn: The act of blowing; a roaring wind; a blast. [Obs.] A most tempestuous blore. Chapman.

BLOSMY Blos"my, a.

Defn: Blossomy. [Obs.] Chaucer.

BLOSSOM Blos"som, n. Etym: [OE. blosme, blostme, AS. bl, bl, blossom; akin to D. bloesem, L. fios, and E. flower; from the root of E. blow to blossom. See Blow to blossom, and cf. Bloom a blossom.]

1. The flower of a plant, or the essential organs of reproduction, with their appendages; florescence; bloom; the flowers of a plant, collectively; as, the blossoms and fruit of a tree; an apple tree in blossom.

Note: The term has been applied by some botanists, and is also applied in common usage, to the corolla. It is more commonly used than flower or bloom, when we have reference to the fruit which is to succeed. Thus we use flowers when we speak of plants cultivated for ornament, and bloom in a more general sense, as of flowers in general, or in reference to the beauty of flowers. Blossoms flaunting in the eye of day. Longfellow.

2. A blooming period or stage of development; something lovely that gives rich promise. In the blossom of my youth. Massinger.

3. The color of a horse that has white hairs intermixed with sorrel and bay hairs; -- otherwise called peach color. In blossom, having the blossoms open; in bloom.

BLOSSOM Blos"som, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Blossomed; p. pr. & vb. n. Blossoming.] Etym: [AS. bl. See Blossom, n.]

1. To put forth blossoms or flowers; to bloom; to blow; to flower. The moving whisper of huge trees that branched And blossomed. Tennyson.

2. To flourish and prosper. Israel shall blossom and bud, and full the face of the world with fruit. Isa. xxvii. 6.

BLOSSOMLESS Blos"som*less, a.

Defn: Without blossoms.

BLOSSOMY Blos"som*y, a.

Defn: Full of blossoms; flowery.

BLOT Blot, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Blotted; p. pr. & vb. n. Blotting.] Etym: [Cf. Dan. plette. See 3d Blot.]

1. To spot, stain, or bespatter, as with ink. The brief was writ and blotted all with gore. Gascoigne.

2. To impair; to damage; to mar; to soil. It blots thy beauty, as frosts do bite the meads. Shak.

3. To stain with infamy; to disgrace. Blot not thy innocence with guiltless blood. Rowe.

4. To obliterate, as writing with ink; to cancel; to efface; -- generally with out; as, to blot out a word or a sentence. Often figuratively; as, to blot out offenses. One act like this blots out a thousand crimes. Dryden.

5. To obscure; to eclipse; to shadow. He sung how earth blots the moon's gilded wane. Cowley.

6. To dry, as writing, with blotting paper.

Syn. -- To obliterate; expunge; erase; efface; cancel; tarnish; disgrace; blur; sully; smear; smutch.

BLOT Blot, v. i.

Defn: To take a blot; as, this paper blots easily.

BLOT Blot, n. Etym: [Cf. Icel. blettr, Dan. plet.]

1. A spot or stain, as of ink on paper; a blur. "Inky blots and rotten parchment bonds." Shak.

2. An obliteration of something written or printed; an erasure. Dryden.

3. A spot on reputation; a stain; a disgrace; a reproach; a blemish. This deadly blot in thy digressing son. Shak.

BLOT Blot, n. Etym: [Cf. Dan. blot bare, naked, Sw. blott, d. bloot, G. bloss, and perh. E. bloat.]

1. (Backgammon) (a) An exposure of a single man to be taken up. (b) A single man left on a point, exposed to be taken up. He is too great a master of his art to make a blot which may be so easily hit. Dryden.

2. A weak point; a failing; an exposed point or mark.

BLOTCH Blotch, n. Etym: [Cf. OE. blacche in blacchepot blacking pot, akin to black, as bleach is akin to bleak. See Black, a., or cf. Blot a spot.]

1. A blot or spot, as of color or of ink; especially a large or irregular spot. Also Fig.; as, a moral blotch. Spots and blotches . . . some red, others yellow. Harvey.

2. (Med.)

Defn: A large pustule, or a coarse eruption. Foul scurf and blotches him defile. Thomson.

BLOTCHED Blotched, a.

Defn: Marked or covered with blotches. To give their blotched and blistered bodies ease. Drayton.

BLOTCHY Blotch"y, a.

Defn: Having blotches.

BLOTE Blote, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bloted; p. pr. & vb. n. Bloting.] Etym: [Cf. Sw. blöt-fisk soaked fish, fr. blöta to soak. See 1st Bloat.]

Defn: To cure, as herrings, by salting and smoking them; to bloat. [Obs.]

BLOTLESS Blot"less, a.

Defn: Without blot.

BLOTTER Blot"ter, n.

1. One who, or that which blots; esp. a device for absorbing superfluous ink.

2. (Com.)

Defn: A wastebook, in which entries of transactions are made as they take place.

BLOTTESQUE Blot*tesque" (, a. (Painting)

Defn: Characterized by blots or heavy touches; coarsely depicted; wanting in delineation. Ruskin.

BLOTTING PAPER Blot"ting pa`per.

Defn: A kind of thick, bibulous, unsized paper, used to absorb superfluous ink from freshly written manuscript, and thus prevent blots.

BLOUSE Blouse, n. Etym: [F. blouse. Of unknown origin.]

Defn: A light, loose over-garment, like a smock frock, worn especially by workingmen in France; also, a loose coat of any material, as the undress uniform coat of the United States army.

BLOW Blow, v. i. [imp. Blew; p. p. Blown; p. pr. & vb. n. Blowing.] Etym: [OE. blowen, AS. bl to blossom; akin to OS. bl, D. bloeijen, OHG. pluojan, MHG. bl, G. blühen, L. florere to flourish, OIr. blath blossom. Cf. Blow to puff, Flourish.]

Defn: To flower; to blossom; to bloom. How blows the citron grove. Milton.

BLOW Blow, v. t.

Defn: To cause to blossom; to put forth (blossoms or flowers). The odorous banks, that blow Flowers of more mingled hue. Milton.

BLOW Blow, n. (Bot.)

Defn: A blossom; a flower; also, a state of blossoming; a mass of blossoms. "Such a blow of tulips." Tatler.

BLOW Blow, n. Etym: [OE. blaw, blowe; cf. OHG. bliuwan, pliuwan, to beat, G. bläuen, Goth. bliggwan.]

1. A forcible stroke with the hand, fist, or some instrument, as a rod, a club, an ax, or a sword. Well struck ! there was blow for blow. Shak.

2. A sudden or forcible act or effort; an assault. A vigorous blow might win [Hanno's camp]. T. Arnold.

3. The infliction of evil; a sudden calamity; something which produces mental, physical, or financial suffering or loss (esp. when sudden); a buffet. A most poor man, made tame to fortune's blows. Shak. At a blow, suddenly; at one effort; by a single vigorous act. "They lose a province at a blow." Dryden. -- To come to blows, to engage in combat; to fight; -- said of individuals, armies, and nations.

Syn. -- Stroke; knock; shock; misfortune.

BLOW Blow, v. i. [imp. Blew; p. p. Blown; p. pr. & vb. n. Blowing.] Etym: [OE. blawen, blowen, AS. bl to blow, as wind; akin to OHG. pl, G. blähen, to blow up, swell, L. flare to blow, Gr. to spout out, and to E. bladder, blast, inflate, etc., and perh. blow to bloom.]

1. To produce a current of air; to move, as air, esp. to move rapidly or with power; as, the wind blows. Hark how it rains and blows ! Walton.

2. To send forth a forcible current of air, as from the mouth or from a pair of bellows.

3. To breathe hard or quick; to pant; to puff. Here is Mistress Page at the door, sweating and blowing. Shak.

4. To sound on being blown into, as a trumpet. There let the pealing organ blow. Milton.

5. To spout water, etc., from the blowholes, as a whale.

6. To be carried or moved by the wind; as, the dust blows in from the street. The grass blows from their graves to thy own. M. Arnold.

7. To talk loudly; to boast; to storm. [Colloq.] You blow behind my back, but dare not say anything to my face. Bartlett. To blow hot and cold Etym: (a saying derived from a fable of , to favor a thing at one time and treat it coldly at another; or to appear both to favor and to oppose. -- To blow off, to let steam escape through a passage provided for the purpose; as, the engine or steamer is blowing off. -- To blow out. (a) To be driven out by the expansive force of a gas or vapor; as, a steam cock or valve sometimes blows out. (b) To talk violently or abusively. [Low] -- To blow over, to pass away without effect; to cease, or be dissipated; as, the storm and the clouds have blown over. -- To blow up, to be torn to pieces and thrown into the air as by an explosion of powder or gas or the expansive force of steam; to burst; to explode; as, a powder mill or steam boiler blows up. "The enemy's magazines blew up." Tatler.

BLOW Blow, v. t.

1. To force a current of air upon with the mouth, or by other means; as, to blow the fire.

2. To drive by a current air; to impel; as, the tempest blew the ship ashore. Off at sea northeast winds blow Sabean odors from the spicy shore. Milton.

3. To cause air to pass through by the action of the mouth, or otherwise; to cause to sound, as a wind instrument; as, to blow a trumpet; to blow an organ. Hath she no husband That will take pains to blow a horn before her Shak. Boy, blow the pipe until the bubble rise, Then cast it off to float upon the skies. Parnell.

4. To clear of contents by forcing air through; as, to blow an egg; to blow one's nose.

5. To burst, shatter, or destroy by an explosion; -- usually with up, down, open, or similar adverb; as, to blow up a building.

6. To spread by report; to publish; to disclose. Through the court his courtesy was blown. Dryden. His language does his knowledge blow. Whiting.

7. To form by inflation; to swell by injecting air; as, to blow bubbles; to blow glass.

8. To inflate, as with pride; to puff up. Look how imagination blows him. Shak.

9. To put out of breath; to cause to blow from fatigue; as, to blow a horse. Sir W. Scott.

10. To deposit eggs or larvæ upon, or in (meat, etc.). To suffer The flesh fly blow my mouth. Shak. To blow great guns, to blow furiously and with roaring blasts; -- said of the wind at sea or along the coast. -- To blow off, to empty (a boiler) of water through the blow-off pipe, while under steam pressure; also, to eject (steam, water, sediment, etc.) from a boiler. -- To blow one's own trumpet, to vaunt one's own exploits, or sound one's own praises. -- To blow out, to extinguish by a current of air, as a candle. -- To blow up. (a) To fill with air; to swell; as, to blow up a bladder or bubble. (b) To inflate, as with pride, self-conceit, etc.; to puff up; as, to blow one up with flattery. "Blown up with high conceits engendering pride." Milton. (c) To excite; as, to blow up a contention.(d) To burst, to raise into the air, or to scatter, by an explosion; as, to blow up a fort. (e) To scold violently; as, to blow up a person for some offense. [Colloq.] I have blown him up well -- nobody can say I wink at what he does. G. Eliot. To blow upon. (a) To blast; to taint; to bring into discredit; to render stale, unsavory, or worthless. (b) To inform against. [Colloq.] How far the very custom of hearing anything spouted withers and blows upon a fine passage, may be seen in those speeches from [Shakespeare's] Henry V. which are current in the mouths of schoolboys. C. Lamb. A lady's maid whose character had been blown upon. Macaulay.

BLOW Blow, n.

1. A blowing, esp., a violent blowing of the wind; a gale; as, a heavy blow came on, and the ship put back to port.

2. The act of forcing air from the mouth, or through or from some instrument; as, to give a hard blow on a whistle or horn; to give the fire a blow with the bellows.

3. The spouting of a whale.

4. (Metal.)

Defn: A single heat or operation of the Bessemer converter. Raymond.

5. An egg, or a larva, deposited by a fly on or in flesh, or the act of depositing it. Chapman.

BLOWBALL Blow"ball` (, n.

Defn: The downy seed head of a dandelion, which children delight to blow away. B. Jonson.

BLOWEN; BLOWESS Blow"en, Blow"ess, n.

Defn: A prostitute; a courtesan; a strumpet. [Low] Smart.

BLOWER Blow"er, n.

1. One who, or that which, blows.

2. (Mech.)

Defn: A device for producing a current of air; as: (a) A metal plate temporarily placed before the upper part of a grate or open fire. (b) A machine for producing an artificial blast or current of air by pressure, as for increasing the draft of a furnace, ventilating a building or shaft, cleansing gram, etc.

3. A blowing out or excessive discharge of gas from a hole or fissure in a mine.

4. The whale; -- so called by seamen, from the circumstance of its spouting up a column of water.

5. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A small fish of the Atlantic coast (Tetrodon turgidus); the puffer.

6. A braggart, or loud talker. [Slang] Bartlett.

BLOWFLY Blow"fly`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any species of fly of the genus Musca that deposits its eggs or young larvæ (called flyblows and maggots) upon meat or other animal products.

BLOWGUN Blow"gun`, n.

Defn: A tube, as of cane or reed, sometimes twelve feet long, through which an arrow or other projectile may be impelled by the force of the breath. It is a weapon much used by certain Indians of America and the West Indies; -- called also blowpipe, and blowtube. See Sumpitan.

BLOWHOLE Blow"hole`, n.

1. A cavern in a cliff, at the water level, opening to the air at its farther extremity, so that the waters rush in with each surge and rise in a lofty jet from the extremity.

2. A nostril or spiracle in the top of the head of a whale or other cetacean.

Note: There are two spiracles or blowholes in the common whales, but only one in sperm whales, porpoises, etc.

3. A hole in the ice to which whales, seals, etc., come to breathe.

4. (Founding)

Defn: An air hole in a casting.

BLOWN Blown, p. p. & a.

1. Swollen; inflated; distended; puffed up, as cattle when gorged with green food which develops gas.

2. Stale; worthless.

3. Out of breath; tired; exhausted. "Their horses much blown." Sir W. Scott.

4. Covered with the eggs and larvæ of flies; fly blown.

BLOWN Blown, p. p. & a.

Defn: Opened; in blossom or having blossomed, as a flower. Shak.

BLOW-OFF Blow"-off` (, n.

1. A blowing off steam, water, etc.; -- Also, adj.

Defn: as, a blow-off cock or pipe.

2. An outburst of temper or excitement. [Colloq.]

BLOW-OUT Blow"-out` (, n.

Defn: The cleaning of the flues of a boiler from scale, etc., by a blast of steam.

BLOWPIPE Blow"pipe` (, n.

1. A tube for directing a jet of air into a fire or into the flame of a lamp or candle, so as to concentrate the heat on some object.

Note: It is called a mouth blowpipe when used with the mouth; but for both chemical and industrial purposes, it is often worked by a bellows or other contrivance. The common mouth blowpipe is a tapering tube with a very small orifice at the end to be inserted in the flame. The oxyhydrogen blowpipe, invented by Dr. Hare in 1801, is an instrument in which oxygen and hydrogen, taken from separate reservoirs, in the proportions of two volumes of hydrogen to one of oxygen, are burned in a jet, under pressure. It gives a heat that will consume the diamond, fuse platinum, and dissipate in vapor, or in gaseous forms, most known substances.

2. A blowgun; a blowtube. Blowpipe analysis (Chem.), analysis by means of the blowpipe. -- Blowpipe reaction (Chem.), the characteristic behavior of a substance subjected to a test by means of the blowpipe.

BLOWPOINT Blow"point` (, n.

Defn: A child's game. [Obs.]

BLOWSE Blowse, n.

Defn: See Blowze.

BLOWTH Blowth, n. Etym: [From Blow to blossom: cf. Growth.]

Defn: A blossoming; a bloom. [Obs. or Archaic] "In the blowth and bud." Sir W. Raleigh.

BLOWTUBE Blow"tube`, n.

1. A blowgun. Tylor.

2. A similar instrument, commonly of tin, used by boys for discharging paper wads and other light missiles.

3. (Glassmaking)

Defn: A long wrought iron tube, on the end of which the workman gathers a quantity of "metal" (melted glass), and through which he blows to expand or shape it; -- called also blowing tube, and blowpipe.

BLOW VALVE Blow" valve` (. (Mach.)

Defn: See Snifting valve.

BLOWY Blow"y, a.

Defn: Windy; as, blowy weather; a blowy upland.

BLOWZE Blowze, n. Etym: [Prob. from the same root as blush.]

Defn: A ruddy, fat-faced woman; a wench. [Obs.] Shak.

BLOWZED Blowzed, a.

Defn: Having high color from exposure to the weather; ruddy-faced; blowzy; disordered. Huge women blowzed with health and wind. Tennyson.

BLOWZY Blowz"y, a.

Defn: Coarse and ruddy-faced; fat and ruddy; high colored; frowzy.

BLUB Blub, v. t. & i. Etym: [Cf. Bleb, Blob.]

Defn: To swell; to puff out, as with weeping. [Obs.]

BLUBBER Blub"ber, n. Etym: [See Blobber, Blob, Bleb.]

1. A bubble. At his mouth a blubber stood of foam. Henryson.

2. The fat of whales and other large sea animals from which oil is obtained. It lies immediately under the skin and over the muscular flesh.

3. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A large sea nettle or medusa.

BLUBBER Blub"ber, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Blubbered; p. pr. & vb. n. Blubbering.]

Defn: To weep noisily, or so as to disfigure the face; to cry in a childish manner. She wept, she blubbered, and she tore her hair. Swift.

BLUBBER Blub"ber, v. t.

1. To swell or disfigure (the face) with weeping; to wet with tears. Dear Cloe, how blubbered is that pretty face! Prior.

2. To give vent to (tears) or utter (broken words or cries); -- with forth or out.

BLUBBERED Blub"bered, p. p. & a.

Defn: Swollen; turgid; as, a blubbered lip. Spenser.

BLUBBERING Blub"ber*ing, n.

Defn: The act of weeping noisily. He spake well save that his blubbering interrupted him. Winthrop.

BLUBBERY Blub"ber*y, a.

1. Swollen; protuberant.

2. Like blubber; gelatinous and quivering; as, a blubbery mass.

BLUCHER Blu"cher, n.

Defn: A kind of half boot, named from the Prussian general Blücher. Thackeray.

BLUDGEON Bludg"eon, n. Etym: [Cf. Ir. blocan a little block, Gael. plocan a mallet, W. plocyn, dim. of ploc block; or perh. connected with E. blow a stroke. Cf. Block, Blow a stroke.]

Defn: A short stick, with one end loaded, or thicker and heavier that the other, used as an offensive weapon.

BLUE Blue, a. [Compar. Bluer; superl. Bluest.] Etym: [OE. bla, blo, blew, blue, Sw. bl, D. blauw, OHG. bl, G. blau; but influenced in form by F. bleu, from OHG. blao.]

1. Having the color of the clear sky, or a hue resembling it, whether lighter or darker; as, the deep, blue sea; as blue as a sapphire; blue violets. "The blue firmament." Milton.

2. Pale, without redness or glare, -- said of a flame; hence, of the color of burning brimstone, betokening the presence of ghosts or devils; as, the candle burns blue; the air was blue with oaths.

3. Low in spirits; melancholy; as, to feel blue.

4. Suited to produce low spirits; gloomy in prospect; as, thongs looked blue. [Colloq.]

5. Severe or over strict in morals; gloom; as, blue and sour religionists; suiting one who is over strict in morals; inculcating an impracticable, severe, or gloomy mortality; as, blue laws.

6. Literary; -- applied to women; -- an abbreviation of bluestocking. [Colloq.] The ladies were very blue and well informed. Thackeray. Blue asbestus. See Crocidolite. -- Blue black, of, or having, a very dark blue color, almost black. -- Blue blood. See under Blood. -- Blue buck (Zoöl.), a small South African antelope (Cephalophus pygmæus); also applied to a larger species (Ægoceras leucophæus); the blaubok. -- Blue cod (Zoöl.), the buffalo cod. -- Blue crab (Zoöl.), the common edible crab of the Atlantic coast of the United States (Callinectes hastatus). -- Blue curls (Bot.), a common plant (Trichostema dichotomum), resembling pennyroyal, and hence called also bastard pennyroyal. -- Blue devils, apparitions supposed to be seen by persons suffering with delirium tremens; hence, very low spirits. "Can Gumbo shut the hall door upon blue devils, or lay them all in a red sea of claret" Thackeray. -- Blue gage. See under Gage, a plum. -- Blue gum, an Australian myrtaceous tree (Eucalyptus globulus), of the loftiest proportions, now cultivated in tropical and warm temperate regions for its timber, and as a protection against malaria. The essential oil is beginning to be used in medicine. The timber is very useful. See Eucalyptus. -- Blue jack, Blue stone, blue vitriol; sulphate of copper. -- Blue jacket, a man-of war's man; a sailor wearing a naval uniform. -- Blue jaundice. See under Jaundice. -- Blue laws, a name first used in the eighteenth century to describe certain supposititious laws of extreme rigor reported to have been enacted in New Haven; hence, any puritanical laws. [U. S.] -- Blue light, a composition which burns with a brilliant blue flame; -- used in pyrotechnics and as a night signal at sea, and in military operations. -- Blue mantle (Her.), one of the four pursuivants of the English college of arms; -- so called from the color of his official robes. -- Blue mass, a preparation of mercury from which is formed the blue pill. McElrath. -- Blue mold, or mould, the blue fungus (Aspergillus glaucus) which grows on cheese. Brande & C. -- Blue Monday, a Monday following a Sunday of dissipation, or itself given to dissipation (as the Monday before Lent). -- Blue ointment (Med.), mercurial ointment. -- Blue Peter (British Marine), a blue flag with a white square in the center, used as a signal for sailing, to recall boats, etc. It is a corruption of blue repeater, one of the British signal flags. -- Blue pill. (Med.) (a) A pill of prepared mercury, used as an aperient, etc. (b) Blue mass. -- Blue ribbon. (a) The ribbon worn by members of the order of the Garter; -- hence, a member of that order. (b) Anything the attainment of which is an object of great ambition; a distinction; a prize. "These [scholarships] were the blue ribbon of the college." Farrar. (c) The distinctive badge of certain temperance or total abstinence organizations, as of the Blue ribbon Army. -- Blue ruin, utter ruin; also, gin. [Eng. Slang] Carlyle. -- Blue spar (Min.), azure spar; lazulite. See Lazulite. -- Blue thrush (Zoöl.), a European and Asiatic thrush (Petrocossyphus cyaneas). -- Blue verditer. See Verditer. -- Blue vitriol (Chem.), sulphate of copper, a violet blue crystallized salt, used in electric batteries, calico printing, etc. -- Blue water, the open ocean. -- To look blue, to look disheartened or dejected. -- True blue, genuine and thorough; not modified, nor mixed; not spurious; specifically, of uncompromising Presbyterianism, blue being the color adopted by the Covenanters.

For his religion . . . 'T was Presbyterian, true blue. Hudibras.

BLUE Blue, n.

1. One of the seven colors into which the rays of light divide themselves, when refracted through a glass prism; the color of the clear sky, or a color resembling that, whether lighter or darker; a pigment having such color. Sometimes, poetically, the sky.

2. A pedantic woman; a bluestocking. [Colloq.]

3. pl. Etym: [Short for blue devils.]

Defn: Low spirits; a fit of despondency; melancholy. [Colloq.] Berlin blue, Prussian blue. -- Mineral blue. See under Mineral. -- Prussian blue. See under Prussian.

BLUE Blue, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Blued; p. pr. & vb. n. Bluing.]

Defn: To make blue; to dye of a blue color; to make blue by heating, as metals, etc.

BLUEBACK Blue"back`, n. (Zoöl.) (a) A trout (Salmo oquassa) inhabiting some of the lakes of Maine. (b) A salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) of the Columbia River and northward. (c) An American river herring (Clupea æstivalis), closely allied to the alewife.

BLUEBEARD Blue"beard, n.

Defn: The hero of a mediæval French nursery legend, who, leaving home, enjoined his young wife not to open a certain room in his castle. She entered it, and found the murdered bodies of his former wives. -- Also used adjectively of a subject which it is forbidden to investigate. The Bluebeard chamber of his mind, into which no eye but his own must look. Carlyle.

BLUEBELL Blue"bell`, n. (Bot.) (a) A plant of the genus Campanula, especially the Campanula rotundifolia, which bears blue bell-shaped flowers; the harebell. (b) A plant of the genus Scilla (Scilla nutans).

BLUEBERRY Blue"berry, n. Etym: [Cf. Blaeberry.] (Bot.)

Defn: The berry of several species of Vaccinium, and ericaceous genus, differing from the American huckleberries in containing numerous minute seeds instead of ten nutlets. The commonest species are V. Pennsylvanicum and V. vacillans. V. corymbosum is the tall blueberry.

BLUEBILL Blue"bill`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A duck of the genus Fuligula. Two American species (F. marila and F. affinis) are common. See Scaup duck.

BLUEBIRD Blue"bird`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A small song bird (Sialia sialis), very common in the United States, and, in the north, one of the earliest to arrive in spring. The male is blue, with the breast reddish. It is related to the European robin. Pairy bluebird (Zoöl.), a brilliant Indian or East Indian bird of the genus Irena, of several species.

BLUE BONNET; BLUE-BONNET Blue" bon`net or Blue"-bon`net, n.

1. A broad, flat Scottish cap of blue woolen, or one waring such cap; a Scotchman.

2. (Bot.)

Defn: A plant. Same as Bluebottle.

3. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The European blue titmouse (Parus coeruleus); the bluecap.

BLUE BOOK Blue" book`.

1. A parliamentary publication, so called from its blue paper covers. [Eng.]

2. The United States official "Biennial Register."

BLUEBOTTLE Blue"bot`tle, n.

1. (Bot.)

Defn: A plant (Centaurea cyanus) which grows in grain fields. It receives its name from its blue bottle-shaped flowers.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A large and troublesome species of blowfly (Musca vomitoria). Its body is steel blue.

BLUEBREAST Blue"breast`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A small European bird; the blue-throated warbler.

BLUECAP Blue"cap`, n.

1. (Zoöl.) (a) The bluepoll. (b) The blue bonnet or blue titmouse.

2. A Scot; a Scotchman; -- so named from wearing a blue bonnet. [Poetic] Shak.

BLUECOAT Blue"coat`, n.

Defn: One dressed in blue, as a soldier, a sailor, a beadle, etc.

BLUE-EYE Blue"-eye`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The blue-cheeked honeysucker of Australia.

BLUE-EYED Blue"-eyed`, a.

Defn: Having blue eyes.

BLUE-EYED GRASS Blue-eyed grass (Bot.)

Defn: a grasslike plant (Sisyrinchium anceps), with small flowers of a delicate blue color.

BLUEFIN Blue"fin`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A species of whitefish (Coregonus nigripinnis) found in Lake Michigan.

BLUEFISH Blue"fish`, n. (Zoöl.)

1. A large voracious fish (Pomatomus saitatrix), of the family Carangidæ, valued as a food fish, and widely distributed on the American coast. On the New Jersey and Rhode Island coast it is called the horse mackerel, in Virginia saltwater tailor, or skipjack.

2. A West Indian fish (Platyglossus radiatus), of the family Labridæ.

Note: The name is applied locally to other species of fishes; as the cunner, sea bass, squeteague, etc.

BLUEGOWN Blue"gown`, n.

Defn: One of a class of paupers or pensioners, or licensed beggars, in Scotland, to whim annually on the king's birthday were distributed certain alms, including a blue gown; a beadsman.

BLUE GRASS Blue" grass`. (Bot.)

Defn: A species of grass (Poa compressa) with bluish green stems, valuable in thin gravelly soils; wire grass. Kentucky blue grass, a species of grass (Poa pratensis) which has running rootstocks and spreads rapidly. It is valuable as a pasture grass, as it endures both winter and drought better than other kinds, and is very nutritious.

BLUE-GRASS STATE Blue-grass State.

Defn: The Sate of Kentucky; -- a nickname alluding to the blue-grass region, where fine horses are bred.

BLUE HEN STATE Blue Hen State.

Defn: The State of Delaware; -- a popular sobriquet. It is said, though the story lacks proof, to have taken its origin from the insistence of a Delaware Revolutionary captain, named Caldwell, that no cock could be truly game unless the mother was a blue hen, whence Blue Hen's Chickens came to be a nickname for the people of Delaware.

BLUE JAY Blue" jay`. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The common jay of the United States (Cyanocitta, or Cyanura, cristata). The predominant color is bright blue.

BLUE-JOHN Blue"-john`, n.

Defn: A name given to fluor spar in Derbyshire, where it is used for ornamental purposes.

BLUELY Blue"ly, adv.

Defn: With a blue color. Swift.

BLUENESS Blue"ness, n.

Defn: The quality of being blue; a blue color. Boyle.

BLUENOSE Blue"nose, n.

Defn: A nickname for a Nova Scotian.

BLUENOSE; BLUENOSER Blue"nose`, Blue"nos*er, n.

Defn: A Nova Scotian; also, a Nova Scotian ship (called also Blue"nos`er); a Nova Scotian potato, etc.

BLUEPOLL Blue"poll` (, n. Etym: [Blue + poll head.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A kind of salmon (Salmo Cambricus) found in Wales.

BLUEPRINT Blue"print.

Defn: See under Print.

BLUE-SKYLAW Blue"-sky"law`.

Defn: A law enacted to provide for the regulation and supervision of investment companies in order to protect the public against companies that do not intend to do a fair and honest business and that offer investments that do not promise a fair return; -- so called because the promises made by some investment companies are as boundless or alluring as the blue sky, or, perhaps, because designed to clear away the clouds and fogs from the simple investor's horizon. [Colloq.]

BLUESTOCKING Blue"stock`ing, n.

1. A literary lady; a female pedant. [Colloq.]

Note: As explained in Boswell's "Life of Dr. Johnson", this term is derived from the name given to certain meetings held by ladies, in Johnson's time, for conversation with distinguished literary men. An eminent attendant of these assemblies was a Mr. Stillingfleet, who always wore blue stockings. He was so much distinguished for his conversational powers that his absence at any time was felt to be a great loss, so that the remark became common, "We can do nothing without the blue stockings." Hence these meetings were sportively called bluestocking clubs, and the ladies who attended them, bluestockings.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The American avocet (Recurvirostra Americana).

BLUESTOCKINGISM Blue"stock`ing*ism, n.

Defn: The character or manner of a bluestocking; female pedantry. [Colloq.]

BLUESTONE Blue"stone` (, n.

1. Blue vitriol. Dunglison.

2. A grayish blue building stone, as that commonly used in the eastern United States.

BLUETHROAT Blue"throat`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A singing bird of northern Europe and Asia (Cyanecula Suecica), related to the nightingales; -- called also blue-throated robin and blue-throated warbler.

BLUETS Blu"ets, n. Etym: [F. bluet, bleuet, dim. of bleu blue. See Blue, a.] (Bot.)

Defn: A name given to several different species of plants having blue flowers, as the Houstonia coerulea, the Centaurea cyanus or bluebottle, and the Vaccinium angustifolium.

BLUE-VEINED Blue"-veined` (, a.

Defn: Having blue veins or blue streaks.

BLUEWING Blue"wing`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The blue-winged teal. See Teal.

BLUEY Blue"y

Defn: ,a.Bluish. Southey.

BLUFF Bluff, a. Etym: [Cf. OD. blaf flat, broad, blaffaert one with a broad face, also, a boaster; or G. verblüffen to confuse, LG. bluffen to frighten; to unknown origin.]

1. Having a broad, flattened front; as, the bluff bows of a ship. "Bluff visages." Irving.

2. Rising steeply with a flat or rounded front. "A bluff or bold shore." Falconer. Its banks, if not really steep, had a bluff and precipitous aspect. Judd.

3. Surly; churlish; gruff; rough.

4. Abrupt; roughly frank; unceremonious; blunt; brusque; as, a bluff answer; a bluff manner of talking; a bluff sea captain. "Bluff King Hal." Sir W. Scott. There is indeed a bluff pertinacity which is a proper defense in a moment of surprise. I. Taylor.

BLUFF Bluff, n.

1. A high, steep bank, as by a river or the sea, or beside a ravine or plain; a cliff with a broad face. Beach, bluff, and wave, adieu. Whittier.

2. An act of bluffing; an expression of self-confidence for the purpose of intimidation; braggadocio; as, that is only bluff, or a bluff.

3. A game at cards; poker. [U.S.] Bartlett.

BLUFF Bluff, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bluffed; p. pr. & vb. n. Bluffing.]

1. (Poker)

Defn: To deter (an opponent) from taking the risk of betting on his hand of cards, as the bluffer does by betting heavily on his own hand although it may be of less value. [U. S.]

2. To frighten or deter from accomplishing a purpose by making a show of confidence in one's strength or resources; as, he bluffed me off. [Colloq.]

BLUFF Bluff, v. i.

Defn: To act as in the game of bluff.

BLUFF-BOWED Bluff"-bowed` (, a. (Naut.)

Defn: Built with the stem nearly straight up and down.

BLUFFER Bluff"er, ( n.

Defn: One who bluffs.

BLUFF-HEADED Bluff"-head`ed (, a. (Naut.)

Defn: Built with the stem nearly straight up and down.

BLUFFNESS Bluff"ness, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being bluff.

BLUFFY Bluff"y, a.

1. Having bluffs, or bold, steep banks.

2. Inclined to bo bluff; brusque.

BLUING Blu"ing, n.

1. The act of rendering blue; as, the bluing of steel. Tomlinson.

2. Something to give a bluish tint, as indigo, or preparations used by washerwomen.

BLUISH Blu"ish, a.

Defn: Somewhat blue; as, bluish veins. "Bluish mists." Dryden. -- Blu"ish*ly, adv. -- Blu"ish*ness, n.

BLUNDER Blun"der, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Blundered; p. pr. & vb. n. Blundering.] Etym: [OE. blunderen, blondren, to stir, confuse, blunder; perh. allied to blend to mix, to confound by mixture.]

1. To make a gross error or mistake; as, to blunder in writing or preparing a medical prescription. Swift.

2. To move in an awkward, clumsy manner; to flounder and stumble. I was never distinguished for address, and have often even blundered in making my bow. Goldsmith. Yet knows not how to find the uncertain place, And blunders on, and staggers every pace. Dryden. To blunder on. (a) To continue blundering. (b) To find or reach as if by an accident involving more or less stupidity, -- applied to something desirable; as, to blunder on a useful discovery.

BLUNDER Blun"der, v. t.

1. To cause to blunder. [Obs.] "To blunder an adversary." Ditton.

2. To do or treat in a blundering manner; to confuse. He blunders and confounds all these together. Stillingfleet.

BLUNDER Blun"der, n.

1. Confusion; disturbance. [Obs.]

2. A gross error or mistake, resulting from carelessness, stupidity, or culpable ignorance.

Syn. -- Blunder, Error, Mistake, Bull. An error is a departure or deviation from that which is right or correct; as, an error of the press; an error of judgment. A mistake is the interchange or taking of one thing for another, through haste, inadvertence, etc.; as, a careless mistake. A blunder is a mistake or error of a gross kind. It supposes a person to flounder on in his course, from carelessness, ignorance, or stupidity. A bull is a verbal blunder containing a laughable incongruity of ideas.

BLUNDERBUSS Blun"der*buss, n. Etym: [Either fr. blunder + D. bus tube, box, akin to G. büchse box, gun, E. box; or corrupted fr. D. donderbus (literally) thunder box, gun, musket.]

1. A short gun or firearm, with a large bore, capable of holding a number of balls, and intended to do execution without exact aim.

2. A stupid, blundering fellow.

BLUNDERER Blun"der*er, n.

Defn: One who is apt to blunder.

BLUNDERHEAD Blun"der*head` (, n. [Blunder + head.]

Defn: A stupid, blundering fellow.

BLUNDERING Blun"der*ing, a.

Defn: Characterized by blunders.

BLUNDERINGLY Blun"der*ing*ly, adv.

Defn: In a blundering manner.

BLUNGE Blunge, v. t.

Defn: To amalgamate and blend; to beat up or mix in water, as clay.

BLUNGER Blun"ger, n. Etym: [Corrupted from plunger.]

Defn: A wooden blade with a cross handle, used for mi Tomlinson.

BLUNGING Blun"ging, n.

Defn: The process of mixing clay in potteries with a blunger. Tomlinson.

BLUNT Blunt, a. Etym: [Cf. Prov. G. bludde a dull or blunt knife, Dan. blunde to sleep, Sw. & Icel. blunda; or perh. akin to E. blind.]

1. Having a thick edge or point, as an instrument; dull; not sharp. The murderous knife was dull and blunt. Shak.

2. Dull in understanding; slow of discernment; stupid; -- opposed to acute. His wits are not so blunt. Shak.