Emily Dickinson Lexicon

BLEED, v.t.

To let blood; to take blood from by opening a vein.

BLEED'ING, n.

A running or issuing of blood, as from the nose; a hemorrhage; the operation of letting blood, as in surgery; the drawing of sap from a tree or plant.

BLEED'ING, ppr.

Losing blood; letting blood; losing sap or juice.

BLEIT, or BLATE, a. [Ger. blöde; D. bloode.]

Bashful; used in Scotland and the northern counties of England. – Johnson.

BLEM'ISH, n.

1. Any mark of deformity; any scar or defect that diminishes beauty, or renders imperfect that which is well formed.
2. Reproach; disgrace; that which impairs reputation; taint; turpitude; deformity. – Hooker.

BLEM'ISH, v.t. [In Fr. blemir, is to grow pale, and blême, from the ancient blesme, is pale, wan; Arm. blem; Norman, blasme, blamed; blemish, and blesmys, broken; blemishment, blemissment, infringement, prejudice; blesme, pale, wan; from blesser, to injure, or its root, from which was formed the noun blesme, pale, wan, or black and blue, as we should now say; and the s being dropped, blamer and blemir, were formed. See Blame.]

1. To mark with any deformity; to injure or impair any thing which is well formed, or excellent; to mar, or make defective, either the body or mind. – Sidney.
2. To tarnish, as reputation or character; to defame. – Dryden.

BLEM'ISH-ED, pp.

Injured or marred by any mark of deformity; tarnished; soiled.

BLEM'ISH-ING, ppr.

Marking with deformity; tarnishing.

BLEM'ISH-LESS, a.

Without blemish; spotless.

BLEM'ISH-MENT, n.

Disgrace. [Little used.] – Morton.

BLENCH, n.

A start. – Shak.

BLENCH, v.i. [This evidently is the blanch of Bacon, see Blanch, and perhaps the modern flinch.]

To shrink; to start back; to give way. – Shak.

BLENCH, v.t.

To hinder or obstruct, says Johnson. But the etymology explains the passage he cites in a different manner. “The rebels carried great trusses of hay before them to blench the defendants' fight.” Carew. That is, to render the combat blank; to render it ineffectual; to break the force of the attack; to deaden the shot.

BLENCH'ED, pp.

Checked; rendered ineffectual.

BLENCH'ER, n.

That which frustrates.

BLENCH'-HOLD-ING, n.

A tenure of lands upon the payment of a small sum in silver, blanch, that is, white money.

BLENCH'ING, ppr.

Checked; deadened. – Blackstone.

BLEND, n. [Ger. blenden, to bind; blende, a blind or skreen.]

An ore of zink, called also mock-lead, false galena, and black-jack. Its color is mostly yellow, brown and black. There are several varieties, but in general, this ore contains more than half its weight of sink, about one fourth sulphur, and usually a small portion of iron. In chimical language, it is a sulphuret of zink. – Fourcroy. Cleaveland. Thomson.

BLEND, v.i.

To be mixed; to be united. There is a tone of solemn and sacred feeling that blends with our conviviality. – Irving.

BLEND, v.t. [Sax. blendian, to blend and to blind; geblendan, to mix, to stain or dye; blindan, to blind; D. blinden; Ger. blenden, to blind; Dan. blander, to blend or mix; blinder, to blind.]

1. To mix or mingle together; hence, to confound, so that the separate things mixed cannot be distinguished.
2. To pollute by mixture; to spoil or corrupt. [Obs.] – Spenser.
3. To blind. [Obs.]

BLEND'ED, pp.

Mixed; confounded by mixture.

BLEND'ER, n.

One that mingles or confounds.

BLEND'ING, ppr.

Mingling together; confounding by mixture.

BLEND'OUS, a.

Pertaining to blend.

BLEND'-WA-TER, n.

A distemper incident to cattle, called also more-hough. – Encyc.