blowen

English

Noun

blowen (plural blowens)

1. (obsolete, vulgar) A prostitute; a courtesan.
   • 1840, Regular Slangsman, The Flash Mirror, Or, Kiddy's Cabinet, page 12:

     Poll Strokem, an old blowen, well known about the streets of London, was continually crying; see her whenever you would, she was all snot and slobber, like a calf's head on a hot summer's day […]

   • August 1831, Bryan O'Toole, “Barney Moore”, in Blackwood Magazine:

     Many a blowen of saloonic fame

Synonyms

• blowess

References

• “blowen”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• Bowlen

Middle English

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old English blāwan, from Proto-West Germanic *blāan, from Proto-Germanic *blēaną.

Alternative forms

• blouen, blow, blowe, blowyn
• blawe (Northern or Kent)
• blawen, bloawen (Early Middle English)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈblɔu̯ən/
• (Northern) IPA^(key): /ˈblɑu̯(ən)/

Verb

blowen

1. To blow (produce a current of air):
   1. To blow away; to blow to eliminate or remove.
   2. To breathe (in or out); to inhale or exhale.
   3. To play a wind instrument (by blowing)
   4. To strengthen a fire by blowing on it.
   5. To inflate or blow up; to expand by blowing.
   6. To gasp; to struggle to breathe.
2. To spread a communicable disease (by exhalation).
3. To smelt; to extract metal from ore.
4. To make a sound, especially flatulence.
5. To insult or brag (talk coarsely)
6. To proclaim; to broadly disseminate.
7. (rare) To be blown around (by wind).

Conjugation

Conjugation of blowen (strong class 7)

infinitive	(to) blowen, blowe
	present tense	past tense
1st-person singular	blowe	blew
2nd-person singular	blowest	blewe, blew
3rd-person singular	bloweth	blew
subjunctive singular	blowe	blewe1
imperative singular		—
plural2	blowen, blowe	blewen, blewe
imperative plural	bloweth, blowe	—
participles	blowynge, blowende	blowen, blowe, yblowen, yblowe

¹Replaced by the indicative in later Middle English.
²Sometimes used as a formal 2nd-person singular.

Derived terms

• blow
• blowere
• blowynge

Descendants

• English: blow
• Geordie English: blaw
• Scots: blaw
• Yola: blay

References

• “blouen, v.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-07-14.

Etymology 2

Inherited from Old English blōwan, from Proto-West Germanic *blōan, from Proto-Germanic *blōaną.

Alternative forms

• blowe

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈblɔu̯ən/

Verb

blowen

1. To blossom; to flower.
   • a. 1250, unknown, “Sumer is icumen in”‎^[1]:

     Lhude sing cuccu / Groweþ sed / and bloweþ med

     Sing loudly, cuckoo! / seed grows / and fields bloom

2. (figurative) To grow, to flourish.

Usage notes

This verb is occasionally weak, but usually remains strong, probably due to influence from Etymology 1.

Conjugation

Conjugation of blowen (strong class 7)

infinitive	(to) blowen, blowe
	present tense	past tense
1st-person singular	blowe	blew
2nd-person singular	blowest	blewe, blew
3rd-person singular	bloweth	blew
subjunctive singular	blowe	blewe1
imperative singular		—
plural2	blowen, blowe	blewen, blewe
imperative plural	bloweth, blowe	—
participles	blowynge, blowende	blowen, blowe, yblowen, yblowe

¹Replaced by the indicative in later Middle English.
²Sometimes used as a formal 2nd-person singular.

Derived terms

• blowynge

Descendants

• English: blow

References

• “blouen, v.(2).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-07-12.