bloc

See also: Bloc and błoć

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French bloc (“group, block”), from Middle French bloc (“a considerable piece of something heavy, block”), from Old French bloc (“log, block”), from Middle Dutch blok (“treetrunk”), from Old Saxon *blok (“log”), from Proto-Germanic *blukką (“beam, log”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰl̥ǵ-, from *bʰelǵ- (“thick plank, beam, pile, prop”). Cognate with Old High German bloh, bloc (German Block, “block”), Old English bolca (“gangway of a ship, plank”), Old Norse bǫlkr (Norwegian bolk, “divider, partition”). More at balk.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /blɑk/

  • Audio (US)

    (file)

• (UK) IPA^(key): /blɒk/
• Homophone: block

Noun

bloc (plural blocs)

1. A group of voters or politicians who share common goals.
2. A group of countries acting together for political or economic goals, an alliance: e.g., the eastern bloc, the western bloc, a trading bloc, the Eurozone, the European Union.

   The ECB is considering three main options ... but two of them could hurt confidence in the bloc's most indebted states, ... (Reuters)

   Climate change a security risk for EU, say bloc's foreign policy chiefs (EUobserver)

   military bloc

Derived terms

• black bloc
• Eastern Bloc
• Soviet Bloc
• trade bloc

Translations

group of voters or politicians

• Arabic: كُتْلَة‎ (ar) f (kutla)
• Armenian: բլոկ (hy) (blok), դաշինք (hy) (dašinkʿ), խմբավորում (hy) (xmbavorum)
• Bulgarian: групировка (bg) f (grupirovka)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 集團 (zh), 集团 (zh) (jítuán)

• Finnish: liittouma (fi), blokki (fi)
• German: Block (de) m
• Italian: blocco (it) m
• Kyrgyz: блок (ky) m (blok) бирикме (ky) m (birikme)

• Norwegian: blokk (no) m
• Portuguese: bloco (pt) m
• Russian: блок (ru) m (blok), группиро́вка (ru) f (gruppiróvka)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: бло̏к m

  Roman: blȍk (sh) m

• Spanish: bloque (es)
• Swedish: block (sv)

group of countries

• Arabic: كُتْلَة‎ (ar) f (kutla)
• Armenian: բլոկ (hy) (blok)
• Bulgarian: блок (bg) m (blok)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 聯合 (zh), 联合 (zh) (liánhé)

• Finnish: liittouma (fi), blokki (fi)
• French: bloc (fr) m
• German: Block (de) m
• Hebrew: גוש‎ (he) m (gush)
• Italian: blocco (it) m
• Japanese: 連合 (ja) (れんごう, rengō)

• Korean: 연합 (ko) (yeonhap)
• Norwegian: blokk (no) m
• Persian: بلوک‎ (fa) (blok)
• Portuguese: bloco (pt) m
• Russian: блок (ru) m (blok)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: бло̏к m

  Roman: blȍk (sh) m

• Spanish: bloque (es) m
• Swedish: block (sv)

Anagrams

• CLOB, LCBO

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Catalan

Noun

bloc m (plural blocs)

1. block
2. bloc

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French

Etymology

From Middle French bloc (“a considerable piece of something heavy, block”), from Old French bloc (“log, block”), from Middle Dutch blok (“treetrunk”), from Old Saxon *blok (“log”), from Proto-Germanic *blukką (“beam, log”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰl̥ǵ-, from *bʰelǵ- (“thick plank, beam, pile, prop”). Cognate with Old High German bloh, bloc (German Block, “block”), Old English bolca (“gangway of a ship, plank”), Old Norse bǫlkr (Norwegian bolk, “divider, partition”). More at balk.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /blɔk/

• audio

  (file)

Noun

bloc m (plural blocs)

1. a block (e.g., of wood)
2. a bloc, an alliance
3. a pad of paper
4. (computing) block (of memory, of code)

Derived terms

• à bloc
• bloc cardiaque
• bloc-note
• Bloc Québécois
• en bloc
• faire bloc
• nier en bloc
• tout d'un bloc

 

Further reading

• “bloc” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

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Irish

Etymology

Borrowed from English block or from a Romance language.

Noun

bloc m (genitive singular bloic, nominative plural bloic)

1. block

Declension

Declension of bloc

First declension

Bare forms: Case Singular Plural Nominative bloc bloic Vocative a bhloic a bhloca Genitive bloic bloc Dative bloc bloic

Forms with the definite article: Case Singular Plural Nominative an bloc na bloic Genitive an bhloic na mbloc Dative leis an mbloc don bhloc leis na bloic

Derived terms

• blocadóir m (“block-maker”)
• blocáil (“block”, verb)
• blocán m (“small block; stocky person; blockhead; coal-fish”)
• bloc-chlár m (“blockboard”)
• blocdhéanmhas m (“block structure”)
• bloc fir m (“stocky man”)
• blocléaráid f (“block diagram”)
• bloclitir f (“block letter”)
• blocphriontáil f (“(act of) blockprinting”)
• craosbhloc m (“breech-block”)
• cróbhloc m (“deadeye”)
• mítéarbhloc m (“mitre-block”)
• próisbhloc m (“process-block”)
• sclóinbhloc m (“swivel block”)
• tacabhloc m (“pillow-block”)
• V-bhloc m (“V-block”)

 

Mutation

Irish mutation
Radical	Lenition	Eclipsis
bloc	bhloc	mbloc
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

References

• "bloc" in Foclóir Gaeilge-Béarla, An Gúm, 1977, by Niall Ó Dónaill.
• C. Marstrander, E. G. Quin et al., editors (1913–76), “bloc”, in Dictionary of the Irish Language: Based Mainly on Old and Middle Irish Materials, Dublin: Royal Irish Academy, →ISBN

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Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from French bloc.

Noun

bloc m (plural bloques)

1. pad (such as of paper)