blind

blind
\ \ [OE] The connotations of the ultimate ancestor of blind, Indo-European *bhlendhos, seem to have been not so much ‘sightlessness’ as ‘confusion’ and ‘obscurity’. The notion of someone wandering around in actual or mental darkness, not knowing where to go, naturally progressed to the ‘inability to see’. Related words that fit this pattern are blunder, possibly from Old Norse blundashut one’s eyes’, blunt, and maybe also blend. By the time the word entered Old English, as blind, it already meant ‘sightless’, but ancestral associations of darkness and obscurity were retained (Pepys in his diary, for instance, writes of a ‘little blind [that is, dark] bed-chamber’ 1666), and traces of them remain in such usages as ‘blind entrance’.
\ \ Cf.BLEND, BLUNDER, BLUNT

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Blind — Blind, a. [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. [1913 Webster] He that is strucken blind can …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Blind — can refer to: * The state of blindness, being unable to see * Blind or double blind, a procedure to reduce bias in scientific experiments * A window blind, a covering for a window * Hunting blind, used to conceal the observer when watching or… …   Wikipedia

  • blind — adj Blind, sightless, purblind mean lacking or deficient in the power to see or to discriminate objects. Blind is used to imply absence or deprivation or gross restriction of the power of vision, either by congenital defect or as a result of… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • Blind — Blind, er, este, adj. et adv. des Gesichtes, oder der Werkzeuge des Sehens beraubt. 1. Eigentlich. Blind seyn. Auf einem Auge, auf beyden Augen blind seyn. Ein blinder Mann. Sprichw. Ein blinder Mann ein armer Mann, weil die Blindheit in der… …   Grammatisch-kritisches Wörterbuch der Hochdeutschen Mundart

  • blind — blind; blind·age; blind·eyes; blind·fold·ed·ness; blind·ish; blind·ism; blind·less; blind·ly; blind·man; blind·man s; blind·ness; blind·stitch; blind·story; spur·blind; un·blind; blind·fold; pur·blind; blind·ing·ly; pur·blind·ly; pur·blind·ness; …   English syllables

  • blind — [blīnd] adj. [ME & OE: see BLEND] 1. without the power of sight; unable to see; sightless 2. of or for sightless persons 3. not able or willing to notice, understand, or judge 4. done without adequate directions or knowledge [a blind search] 5. h …   English World dictionary

  • blind — ► ADJECTIVE 1) lacking the power of sight; unable to see. 2) done without being able to see or without necessary information. 3) lacking perception, judgement, or reason. 4) concealed, closed, or blocked off. 5) (of flying) using instruments only …   English terms dictionary

  • Blind — «Blind» Сингл Korn из альбома Korn Выпущен 1994 Формат CD Записан …   Википедия

  • blind — [blɪnt] <Adj.>: 1. nicht sehen könnend: ein blindes Kind; von Geburt blind sein; blind werden. Syn.: ↑ sehbehindert. Zus.: farbenblind, halbblind, nachtblind, schneeblind. 2. keiner Kontrolle durch den Verstand unterworfen: blinder Hass;… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • blind — Adj std. (8. Jh.), mhd. blind, ahd. blint, as. blind Stammwort. Aus g. * blinda , älter * blenda Adj. blind , auch in gt. blinds, anord. blindr, ae. blind, afr. blind. Ein e stufiges Adjektiv, als dessen Grundlage vielleicht ein starkes Verb **… …   Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen sprache

  • 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. [1913 Webster] A blind guide is certainly a great mischief; but a guide that blinds… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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