blind
See also: Blind
EnglishEdit
Alternative formsEdit
- (archaic) blinde
EtymologyEdit
From Middle English blynd, from Old English blind, from Proto-West Germanic *blind, from Proto-Germanic *blindaz.
PronunciationEdit
AdjectiveEdit
blind (comparative blinder, superlative blindest)
- (not comparable) Unable to see, due to physiological or neurological factors.
- Synonym: sightless
- Antonyms: seeing, sighted
- Even a blind hen sometimes finds a grain of corn.
- Braille is a writing system for the blind.
- his blind eye
- c. 1591–1595 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i]:
- He that is strucken blind cannot forget / The precious treasure of his eyesight lost.
- 1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island, London; Paris: Cassell & Company, published 14 November 1883, →OCLC:
- He was plainly blind, for he tapped before him with a stick, and wore a great green shade over his eyes and nose...
- (comparable) Failing to see, acknowledge, perceive.
- The lovers were blind to each other's faults.
- Authors are blind to their own defects.
- (not comparable) Of a place, having little or no visibility.
- a blind path
- a blind ditch
- a blind corner
- 1634 October 9 (first performance), [John Milton], H[enry] Lawes, editor, A Maske Presented at Ludlow Castle, 1634: […] [Comus], London: […] [Augustine Matthews] for Hvmphrey Robinson, […], published 1637, →OCLC; reprinted as Comus: […] (Dodd, Mead & Company’s Facsimile Reprints of Rare Books; Literature Series; no. I), New York, N.Y.: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1903, →OCLC:
- the blind mazes of this tangled wood
- (not comparable) Closed at one end; having a dead end; exitless.
- a blind fistula
- 1898, Journal of the Royal Microscopical Society, page 498:
- The naric-hypophysial canal was blind at both ends, and paired olfactory sacs opened into it, as well as a narrow canal from the front of the gut.
- 1914, James Joyce, Araby:
- North Richmond street, being blind, was a quiet street except at the hour when the Christian Brothers' School set the boys free.
- (not comparable) Having no openings for light or passage; both dark and exitless.
- a blind wall
- a blind alley
- (in certain phrases, chiefly in the negative) Smallest or slightest.
- I shouted, but he didn't take a blind bit of notice.
- We pulled and pulled, but it didn't make a blind bit of difference.
- (not comparable) Without any prior knowledge.
- He took a blind guess at which fork in the road would take him to the airport.
- I went into the meeting totally blind, so I really didn't have a clue what I was talking about.
- (not comparable) Unconditional; without regard to evidence, logic, reality, accidental mistakes, extenuating circumstances, etc.
- blind deference
- blind justice
- blind punishment
- 1787–1788, John Jay, The Federalist Papers
- This plan is recommended neither to blind approbation nor to blind reprobation.
- (sciences) Using blinded study design, wherein information is purposely limited to prevent bias.
- a blind trial
- Unintelligible or illegible.
- a blind passage in a book; blind writing
- (horticulture) Abortive; failing to produce flowers or fruit.
- blind buds
- blind flowers
- (LGBT, slang) Uncircumcised[1]
Derived termsEdit
Terms derived from blind (adjective)
- are you blind
- blind abscess
- blind alley
- blind as a bat
- blind as a beetle
- blind as an owl
- blind axle
- blind bit
- blind boil
- blind box
- blind carbon copy
- blind coal
- blind-copy
- blind curve
- blind date
- blind drunk (See also Thesaurus:drunk)
- blind envelope
- blind ecash
- blind-fly
- Blind Freddy
- blind grass
- blind gut
- blind hockey
- blind hole
- Blind Hookey
- blind item
- blind lantern
- blind level
- blind map
- blind massage
- blind mole-rat
- blind nailing
- blind passenger
- blind pig
- blind pool
- blind quote
- blind rage
- blind reader
- blind scouse
- blind shell
- blind snake
- blind spot
- blind stamp
- blind stitch
- blind summit
- Blind Swine Mate
- the blind leading the blind
- blind tiger
- blind thrust fault
- blind trust
- blind typewriter
- blinders
- blindfish
- blindfold
- blindism
- blindly
- blindman's buff
- blinds
- blindside
- blindworm
- colour-blind / color-blind
- deafblind
- double-blind
- even a blind pig can find an acorn once in a while
- even a blind squirrel can find a nut once in a while
- face-blind
- gender blind
- go it blind
- gravel-blind
- green-blind
- I see, said the blind man
- in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king
- inattentionally blind
- justice is blind
- love is blind
- moon-blind
- night-blind
- nose-blind
- perceptually blind
- purblind
- race-blind
- rob somebody blind
- sand-blind
- single-blind
- snow-blind
- star-blind
- stereoblind
- stone-blind
- there are none so blind as those who will not see
- triple-blind
- turn a blind eye
- word-blind
TranslationsEdit
unable to see
|
failing to see
having little or no visibility
|
having no openings for light or passage
|
smallest or slightest
|
without any prior knowledge
unconditional; without regard to evidence
unintelligible or illegible
|
See alsoEdit
- invisible (unable to be seen)
- anosmic
- deaf
- print disabled
NounEdit
blind (plural blinds)
- A movable covering for a window to keep out light, made of cloth or of narrow slats that can block light or allow it to pass.
- Hyponyms: roller blind, Venetian blind
- 1941 June, “Notes and News: The Derelict Glyn Valley Tramway”, in Railway Magazine, page 279:
- A blind bearing the monogram G.V.T. is pulled down over the waiting room window as if still in mourning for the passing of the railway.
- 1956, Delano Ames, chapter 12, in Crime out of Mind[1]:
- Light filtered in through the blinds of the french windows. It made tremulous stripes along the scrubbed pine floor.
- A destination sign mounted on a public transport vehicle displaying the route destination, number, name and/or via points, etc.
- Any device intended to conceal or hide.
- a duck blind
- Something to mislead the eye or the understanding, or to conceal some covert deed or design; a subterfuge.
- (military) A blindage.
- A hiding place.
- 1697, Virgil, “The Fourth Book of the Æneis”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:
- So, when the watchful shepherd, from the blind,
Wounds with a random shaft the careless hind
- (rugby, colloquial) The blindside.
- (baseball, slang, 1800s) No score.
- (poker) A forced bet: the small blind or the big blind.
- The blinds are $10 and $20, and the ante is $1.
- (poker) A player who is forced to pay such a bet.
- The blinds immediately folded when I reraised.
SynonymsEdit
- (destination sign): rollsign (mainly US)
Derived termsEdit
TranslationsEdit
covering for a window
|
destination sign
|
forced bet in poker
blind person
See alsoEdit
VerbEdit
blind (third-person singular simple present blinds, present participle blinding, simple past and past participle blinded)
- (transitive) To make temporarily or permanently blind.
- The light was so bright that for a moment he was blinded.
- Don't wave that pencil in my face - do you want to blind me?
- May 9, 1686 (date of preaching), Robert South, The Fatal Imposture and Force of Words (sermon)
- A blind guide is certainly a great mischief; but a guide that blinds those whom he should lead is […] a much greater.
- (slang, obsolete) To curse.
- 1890, Rudyard Kipling, The Young British Soldier:
- If you're cast for fatigue by a sergeant unkind,
Don't grouse like a woman, nor crack on, nor blind;
Be handy and civil, and then you will find
That it's beer for the young British soldier.
- To darken; to obscure to the eye or understanding; to conceal.
- 1717, John Dryden [et al.], “(please specify |book=I to XV)”, in Ovid’s Metamorphoses in Fifteen Books. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:
- Such darkness blinds the sky.
- 1676, Edward Stillingfleet, A Defence of the Discourse Concerning the Idolatry Practised in the Church of Rome:
- The state of the controversy between us he endeavored, with all his art, to blind and confound.
- To cover with a thin coating of sand and fine gravel, for example a road newly paved, in order that the joints between the stones may be filled.
Derived termsEdit
TranslationsEdit
make temporarily or permanently blind
|
to obscure to the eye or understanding; to conceal
|
AdverbEdit
blind (comparative more blind, superlative most blind)
- Without seeing; unseeingly.
- 1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part I, page 196:
- It was just robbery with violence, aggravated murder on a great scale, and men going at it blind - as is very proper for those who tackle a darkness.
- (colloquial) Absolutely, totally.
- to swear blind
- 1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part I, page 195:
- It was just robbery with violence, aggravated murder on a great scale, and men going at it blind - as is very proper for those who tackle a darkness.
- (poker, three card brag) Without looking at the cards dealt.
- (cooking, especially in combination with 'bake') As a pastry case only, without any filling.
- Blind bake your pie case for fifteen minutes, then add the filling. This will help avoid a "soggy bottom".
- 2012, Frank D. Conforti, Food Selection and Preparation: A Laboratory Manual, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, page 63:
- If the shell is going to be baked without a filling, “baking the crust blind,” prick the bottom and sides of the crust to allow the steam to escape. Another variation: line the bottom of the crust with parchment paper […]
- 2013, Dorie Greenspan, Baking: From My Home to Yours, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, →ISBN, page 490:
- PIE WEIGHTS: When you are baking a crust blind, which means when you are partially or fully baking it without filling (see blind-baking, page 474), you need something to keep the crust from puffing up: weights.
TranslationsEdit
without seeing
without looking at the cards
|
ReferencesEdit
- ^ A. F. Niemoeller, "A Glossary of Homosexual Slang," Fact 2, no. 1 (Jan-Feb 1965): 25
AfrikaansEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Dutch blind, from Middle Dutch blint, from Old Dutch *blint, from Proto-Germanic *blindaz.
PronunciationEdit
AdjectiveEdit
blind (attributive blinde, comparative blinder, superlative blindste)
- blind (unable to see)
Derived termsEdit
DanishEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Old Norse blindr, from Proto-Germanic *blindaz.
PronunciationEdit
- Rhymes: -end
AdjectiveEdit
blind
InflectionEdit
| Inflection of blind | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Positive | Comparative | Superlative | |
| Indefinte common singular | blind | mere blind | mest blind2 |
| Indefinite neuter singular | blindt | mere blind | mest blind2 |
| Plural | blinde | mere blind | mest blind2 |
| Definite attributive1 | blinde | mere blind | mest blinde |
| 1) When an adjective is applied predicatively to something definite, the corresponding "indefinite" form is used. 2) The "indefinite" superlatives may not be used attributively. | |||
ReferencesEdit
- “blind” in Den Danske Ordbog
DutchEdit
PronunciationEdit
Etymology 1Edit
From Middle Dutch blint, from Old Dutch *blint, from Proto-West Germanic *blind, from Proto-Germanic *blindaz.
AdjectiveEdit
blind (comparative blinder, superlative blindst)
- blind (unable to see)
- Hij is sinds zijn geboorte blind.
- He has been blind since his birth.
InflectionEdit
| Inflection of blind | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| uninflected | blind | |||
| inflected | blinde | |||
| comparative | blinder | |||
| positive | comparative | superlative | ||
| predicative/adverbial | blind | blinder | het blindst het blindste | |
| indefinite | m./f. sing. | blinde | blindere | blindste |
| n. sing. | blind | blinder | blindste | |
| plural | blinde | blindere | blindste | |
| definite | blinde | blindere | blindste | |
| partitive | blinds | blinders | — | |
Derived termsEdit
DescendantsEdit
- Afrikaans: blind
- Berbice Creole Dutch: blende
- Negerhollands: blind, blin, blen
- →? Sranan Tongo: breni, blinde, blinni
Etymology 2Edit
From blinden.
Alternative formsEdit
- blinde f
NounEdit
blind n (plural blinden, diminutive blindje n)
- window shutter
SynonymsEdit
GermanEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Middle High German and Old High German blint, from Proto-West Germanic *blind.
PronunciationEdit
AdjectiveEdit
blind (strong nominative masculine singular blinder, comparative blinder, superlative am blindesten)
- blind
- blind für Realität ― blind to reality
- blind auf einem Auge ― blind in one eye
- (of a mirror or windowpane) cloudy
- 1918, Elisabeth von Heyking, Die Orgelpfeifen, in: Zwei Erzählungen, Phillipp Reclam jun. Verlag, page 9:
- So dunkel und schauerlich die Gruft aussah, wenn man durch die blinden, bestaubten Scheibchen der kleinen Fenster hineinblickte, so hell und freundlich war oben die Kirche.
- Just as dark and eerie the crypt looked like, if one looked in it through the cloudy, dusted little panes of the small windows, as bright and friendly was the church above.
- 1918, Elisabeth von Heyking, Die Orgelpfeifen, in: Zwei Erzählungen, Phillipp Reclam jun. Verlag, page 9:
DeclensionEdit
Positive forms of blind
| number & gender | singular | plural | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| masculine | feminine | neuter | |||
| predicative | er ist blind | sie ist blind | es ist blind | sie sind blind | |
| strong declension (without article) |
nominative | blinder | blinde | blindes | blinde |
| genitive | blinden | blinder | blinden | blinder | |
| dative | blindem | blinder | blindem | blinden | |
| accusative | blinden | blinde | blindes | blinde | |
| weak declension (with definite article) |
nominative | der blinde | die blinde | das blinde | die blinden |
| genitive | des blinden | der blinden | des blinden | der blinden | |
| dative | dem blinden | der blinden | dem blinden | den blinden | |
| accusative | den blinden | die blinde | das blinde | die blinden | |
| mixed declension (with indefinite article) |
nominative | ein blinder | eine blinde | ein blindes | (keine) blinden |
| genitive | eines blinden | einer blinden | eines blinden | (keiner) blinden | |
| dative | einem blinden | einer blinden | einem blinden | (keinen) blinden | |
| accusative | einen blinden | eine blinde | ein blindes | (keine) blinden | |
Comparative forms of blind
| number & gender | singular | plural | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| masculine | feminine | neuter | |||
| predicative | er ist blinder | sie ist blinder | es ist blinder | sie sind blinder | |
| strong declension (without article) |
nominative | blinderer | blindere | blinderes | blindere |
| genitive | blinderen | blinderer | blinderen | blinderer | |
| dative | blinderem | blinderer | blinderem | blinderen | |
| accusative | blinderen | blindere | blinderes | blindere | |
| weak declension (with definite article) |
nominative | der blindere | die blindere | das blindere | die blinderen |
| genitive | des blinderen | der blinderen | des blinderen | der blinderen | |
| dative | dem blinderen | der blinderen | dem blinderen | den blinderen | |
| accusative | den blinderen | die blindere | das blindere | die blinderen | |
| mixed declension (with indefinite article) |
nominative | ein blinderer | eine blindere | ein blinderes | (keine) blinderen |
| genitive | eines blinderen | einer blinderen | eines blinderen | (keiner) blinderen | |
| dative | einem blinderen | einer blinderen | einem blinderen | (keinen) blinderen | |
| accusative | einen blinderen | eine blindere | ein blinderes | (keine) blinderen | |
Superlative forms of blind
Derived termsEdit
See alsoEdit
Further readingEdit
German Low GermanEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Middle Low German blint, from Old Saxon blind. Cognate to Dutch blind, German blind.
AdjectiveEdit
blind (comparative blinner, superlative blinnst)
DeclensionEdit
Positive forms of blind
| gender | singular | plural | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| masculine | feminine | neuter | all genders | ||
| predicative | he is blind | se is blind | dat is blind | se sünd blind | |
| partitive | een Blinns | een Blinns | wat Blinns | allens Blinn | |
| strong declension (without article) |
nominative | blinne | blinne | blind | blinne |
| oblique | blinnen | blinne | blind | blinne | |
| weak declension (with definite article) |
nominative | de blinne | de blinne | dat blinne | de blinnen |
| oblique | den blinnen | de blinne | dat blinne | de blinnen | |
| mixed declension (with indefinite article) |
nominative | en blinne/blinnen | en blinne | en blind/blinnet | (keen) blinnen |
| oblique | en blinnen | en blinne | en blind/blinnet | (keen) blinnen | |
Comparative forms of blind
| gender | singular | plural | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| masculine | feminine | neuter | all genders | ||
| predicative | he is blinner | se is blinner | dat is blinner | se sünd blinner | |
| partitive | een blinners | een blinners | wat blinners | allens blinner | |
| strong declension (without article) |
nominative | blinnere | blinnere | blinner | blinnere |
| oblique | blinnern | blinnere | blinner | blinnere | |
| weak declension (with definite article) |
nominative | de blinnere | de blinnere | dat blinnere | de blinnern |
| oblique | den blinnern | de blinnere | dat blinnere | de blinnern | |
| mixed declension (with indefinite article) |
nominative | en blinnere/blinneren | en blinnere | en blinner | (keen) blinnern |
| oblique | en blinnern | en blinnere | en blinner | (keen) blinnern | |
Superlative forms of blind
| gender | singular | plural | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| masculine | feminine | neuter | all genders | ||
| predicative | he is de Blinnste | se is de Blinnste | dat is dat Blinnste | se sünd de Blinnsten | |
| strong declension (without article) |
nominative | blinnste | blinnste | blinnst | blinnste |
| oblique | blinnsten | blinnste | blinnst | blinnste | |
| weak declension (with definite article) |
nominative | de blinnste | de blinnste | dat blinnste | de blinnsten |
| oblique | den blinnsten | de blinnste | dat blinnste | de blinnsten | |
| mixed declension (with indefinite article) |
nominative | en blinnste/blinnsten | en blinnste | en blinnst | (keen) blinnsten |
| oblique | en blinnsten | en blinnste | en blinnst | (keen) blinnsten | |
| Note: This declension is one of many; neither its grammar nor spelling apply to all dialects. |
|---|
IcelandicEdit
AdjectiveEdit
blind
Norwegian BokmålEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Old Norse blindr, from Proto-Germanic *blindaz.
AdjectiveEdit
blind (neuter singular blindt, definite singular and plural blinde)
Derived termsEdit
Terms derived from blind
ReferencesEdit
- “blind” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
Norwegian NynorskEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Old Norse blindr, from Proto-Germanic *blindaz. Akin to English blind.
PronunciationEdit
AdjectiveEdit
blind (neuter blindt, definite singular and plural blinde, comparative blindare, indefinite superlative blindast, definite superlative blindaste)
Derived termsEdit
Terms derived from blind
VerbEdit
blind
- imperative of blinda
ReferencesEdit
- “blind” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
Old EnglishEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Proto-West Germanic *blind.
PronunciationEdit
AdjectiveEdit
blind
- blind
- blind, dēaf, and dumb
- blind, deaf, and dumb
- God is dēad and man is blind.
- God is dead and man is blind.
- (substantive) a blind person
DeclensionEdit
Declension of blind — Strong
Declension of blind — Weak
Derived termsEdit
DescendantsEdit
Old SaxonEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Proto-West Germanic *blind.
AdjectiveEdit
blind
DeclensionEdit
Positive forms of blind
SwedishEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Old Swedish blinder, from Old Norse blindr, from Proto-Germanic *blindaz.
AdjectiveEdit
blind (comparative blindare, superlative blindast)
- blind; unable or failing to see
DeclensionEdit
| Inflection of blind | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Indefinite | Positive | Comparative | Superlative2 |
| Common singular | blind | blindare | blindast |
| Neuter singular | blint | blindare | blindast |
| Plural | blinda | blindare | blindast |
| Masculine plural3 | blinde | blindare | blindast |
| Definite | Positive | Comparative | Superlative |
| Masculine singular1 | blinde | blindare | blindaste |
| All | blinda | blindare | blindaste |
| 1) Only used, optionally, to refer to things whose natural gender is masculine. 2) The indefinite superlative forms are only used in the predicative. 3) Dated or archaic | |||
Derived termsEdit
Further readingEdit
- blind in Svensk ordbok.