blunder

blunder
\ \ [14] When blunder first entered the language, it meant ‘stumble around blindly, bumping into things’, which gives a clue to its possible ultimate connection with blind. Its probable source was Old Norse blundrashut one’s eyes’, forerunner of Swedish blunda and Norwegian blunda (Jon Blund is the Swedish equivalent of ‘the sandman’), and very likely a descendant of Indo-European *bhlendhos, from which blind comes. The first record of the modern sense ‘foolish mistake’ comes in Edward Phillips’s The new world of English words 1706.
\ \ Cf.BLIND

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу
Synonyms:
(grossly), (from want of care) / , , / , , , , , , , (of the grossest kind), (from thoughtlessness), ,


Look at other dictionaries:

  • Blunder — Blun der, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Blundered}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Blundering}.] [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… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Blunder — Blun der, n. 1. Confusion; disturbance. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] 2. A gross error or mistake, resulting from carelessness, stupidity, or culpable ignorance. [1913 Webster] Syn: {Blunder}, {Error}, {Mistake}, {Bull}. Usage: An error is a departure or …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Blunder — Blun der, v. t. 1. To cause to blunder. [Obs.] To blunder an adversary. Ditton. [1913 Webster] 2. To do or treat in a blundering manner; to confuse. [1913 Webster] He blunders and confounds all these together. Stillingfleet. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • blunder — vb lurch, flounder, *stumble, trip, lumber, galumph, lollop, bumble Analogous words: stagger, *reel, totter: *wallow, welter blunder n mistake, *error, bull, howler, boner, slip, lapse, faux pas Analogous words: * …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • blunder — [n] mistake blooper*, boner*, booboo*, bungle, dumb move*, dumb thing to do*, error, fault, faux pas, flub*, flub up*, fluff*, gaffe, goof*, howler*, impropriety, inaccuracy, indiscretion, lapse, muff*, oversight, slip, slip up, solecism, trip*;… …   New thesaurus

  • blunder — ► NOUN ▪ a stupid or careless mistake. ► VERB 1) make a blunder. 2) move clumsily or as if unable to see. ORIGIN probably Scandinavian …   English terms dictionary

  • Blunder — (engl., spr. blönn ), Irrtum, Versehen …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • Blunder — (engl., Blönder), Fehler, Mißgriff, Sprachfehler …   Herders Conversations-Lexikon

  • blunder — index abortion (fiasco), disaster, err, fault (mistake), indiscretion, maladministration, misapprehend …   Law dictionary

  • blunder — • blunder, dumhet, misstag, fel, felsteg …   Svensk synonymlexikon

  • blunder — [blun′dər] vi. [ME blunderen, freq. < ON blunda, to shut the eyes, akin to Swed dial. blundra, to do blindly < IE base * bhlendh : see BLEND] 1. to move clumsily or carelessly; flounder; stumble 2. to make a foolish or stupid mistake vt. 1 …   English World dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”