blasphemy 
It was a crime answering to treason in our own time, and 
wan carefully defined an, I rigorously punished l>y the Mo- 
saic laws. It wag of thi,-* crime tliat Jesus wan a 
untl for it eomleimieil, because he assumed tlie divine 
character and accepted divine honors. 
For a good work wo stone thee not, but fur blasphemy ; 
and bcue that than, being a man, inakest thyself God. 
John x. Si. 
Hence 2. Any impious or profane speaking 
of God or of sacred things ; reproachful, con- 
temptuous, or irreverent words uttered impi- 
ously against God or religion. 
Hlas/ihemy is an Injury offered to God, by denying that 
which is due ainl heloriKing to him, or attributing to him 
that which is not agreeable to his nature. Limit!. 
Blasphemy mmiizable by common law is described by 
BUoUtojM to he "denying the being or providence of 
God, contumelious reproaches of our Saviour Christ, pro- 
fane scomng at the Iloly Scripture, or exposing it to con- 
tempt or ridicule " ; by Kent as " maliciously reviling 
God or religion"; and by Chief Justice Lemuel Shaw as 
" speaking evil of the Deity with an Impious purpose to 
derogate from the Divine Majesty, and to alienate the 
minds of others from the love and reverence of God." 
Blasphemy is punished as a crime or a misdemeanor by 
the laws of many nations. In the Roman Catholic Church, 
language irreverent toward the Virgin Mary and the 
saints is also held to be blasphemy. 
3. Evil speaking or abusive language against 
anything held sacred: as, "blasphemy against 
learning," Bacon, Advancement of Learning, i. 
(Latham.) 4. An indecent or scurrilous ut- 
terance, as distinguished from fair and respect- 
ful discussion; grossly irreverent or outrage- 
ous language. 
That in the captain's but a choleric word, 
Which in the soldier is Hat blasphemy. 
Shak., M. for M., il. 2. 
fit. A blasphemer; a blasphemous person. 
[Bare.] 
Now, blasphemy, 
That swear st grace o'erboard, not an oath on shore. 
Shot., Tempest, v. 1. 
= Syn. Blasphemy, Profanity, agree in expressing the ir- 
reverent use of words, but the former is the stronger, and 
the latter the wider. Profanity is language irreverent to- 
ward God or holy things, covering especially all oaths that, 
literally interpreted, treat lightly the attributes or acts of 
God. Blasphemy is generally more direct, intentional, and 
defiant in its impiety, and is directed toward the moat sa- 
cred things in religion. 
And he [the dragon] opened his month in blasphemy 
against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, 
and them that dwell in heaven. Rev. xiii. 6. 
If indecency and profanity, inspired by "potations pot- 
tle-deep," were heard anywhere with peculiar emphasis 
and shameless vociferation, it was at the board of Eng- 
land's prime minister [Sir Robert Walpole}. 
Whipple, H. Fielding. 
blast (blast), n. [< ME. Wast, blest, < AS. bliest 
(=OHG. blast, MHG. G. blast = Icel. blastr= Sw. 
blast = Dan. blcest), a gust of wind, a blowing, 
< 'bliesan (= D. blazen = MLG. blasen = OHG. 
bldsan, MHG. blasen, G. blasen = Icel. bldsa = 
Sw. HAsa = Dan. 6tee=Goth. blesan (in comp.), 
blow, breathe, > E. blaze^, q. v.), akin to old- 
wan, blow: see blow 1 , v. Perhaps ult. connect- 
ed with AS. blamt, a flame, W<w. a flame, > E. 
blaze 1 , q. v.] 1. A blowing ; a gust or puff of 
wind ; especially, a strong and sudden gust. 
Rede that boweth downe at every Matt. 
Chaucer, Trollus, ii. 
Blasts that blow the poplar white. 
Tennyson, In Memoriam, Ixxii. 
2. A forcible stream of air from the mouth, 
from bellows, or the like. 
At the blast of his mouth were the rest of the creatures 
made, and at his bare word they started out of nothing. 
.v/;- T. Broime, Religio Medici, 1. 36. 
Hence 3. A jet of exhaust-steam thrown into 
a smoke-stack to assist the draft. 4. In metal., 
the air forced into a furnace for the purpose of 
accelerating combustion. A furnace Is said to be n 
blagt when it is in operation, out of blast when stopped, 
either temporarily or permanently. 
5. The sound made by blowing a wind-instru- 
ment, as a horn or trumpet ; strictly, the sound 
produced by one breath. 
One Mast upon his bugle-horn 
Were worth a thousand men. 
Scott, L. of the L., vi. 18. 
6. Any sudden, pernicious, or destructive in- 
fluence upon animals or plants ; the infection 
of anything pestilential ; a blight. 
Blast* and fogs upon thee ! Shot., Lear, L 4. 
Of no distemper, of no blast he died, 
But fell like autumn fruit that mellowed long. 
Dryiien, (Edipus, Iv. 1 
Hence 7. Any withering or destructive in- 
fluence ; a curse. 
By the blast of God they perish. Job iv. 9. 
8. The product of a blast or blight ; a bud which 
never blossoms. 
579 
As in all gardeins, some flowers, some weedes, and as in 
al trees, some blossom*, some Masts. 
Lyly, Euphues, Anat. of Wit, p. 19fl. 
9. The charge of gunpowder or other explosive 
used at one firing in blasting operations. 
10. The explosion of inflammable air in a 
mine. 11. A flatulent disease in sheep. 12. 
A smoke of tobacco. [Scotch.] At one Mast, at 
in, . For a blast*, for once. Hot blast, air raised to a 
high temperature and forced into a blast-furnace in smelt- 
ing, and especially in the manufacture of pig-iron. The 
plan of heating the blast originated with Mr. James Beau- 
mont Neilson of Glasgow, and a patent was issued to him 
in 1828. The Introduction of the hot blast has had an im- 
portant influence on the development of the iron busi- 
ness, since by this method the amount of fuel required Is 
considerably lessened. In full blast, in full operation 
referring to a blast-furnace when worked to its fullest ex- 
tent or capacity. 
The business of the day was in full blast. 
C. D. Warner, Roundabout Journey, p. 166. 
- Syn. Gust, etc. See wind, n. 
blast (blast), r. [< ME. Hasten, blow, breathe 
hard ; trans., blow, as a trumpet ; < blast, a blow- 
ing: see liln.it, n.] I. intrans. 1. To blow; puff; 
breathe hard ; pant. [Scotch and Middle Eng- 
lish.] 
Dragouns . . . 
That grisely whlstleden and blatten 
And of her mouthe fyre outcuten. 
Kiny Alisaunder, 1. 6348. 
To puffen and to blast f. 
Chaucer, House of Fame, 1. 1866. 
2. To smoke tobacco. [Scotch.] 3. To boast; 
brag; speak ostentatiously. Scott. [Scotch.] 
4. To wither; be blighted. 
Blasting in the bud, 
Losing his verdure, even in the prime. 
Shot., T. G. of V., 1. 1. 
5. To burst as by an explosion ; blow up. 
This project 
Should have a back, or second, that might hold, 
If this should blast In proof. Shot., Hamlet, Iv. 7. 
II. 'ran*. If. To blow forth or abroad; 
hence, to utter loudly; proclaim. 2. To break 
or tear to pieces (rocks or similar materials) by 
the agency of gunpowder or other explosive. 
In the ordinary operations of mining the rocks are at- 
tacked, or broken into fragments of manageable size, by 
blasting. 
He spoke ; and, high above, I heard them blast 
The steep slate-quarry. Tennyson, Golden Year. 
3. To confound or stun by a loud blast or din ; 
split; burst. [Rare.] 
Trumpeters, 
With brazen din blast you the city's ear. 
Shale., A. and C., iv. 8. 
I have seen you stand 
As you were blasted 'midst of all your mirth. 
Beau, and Fl., Maid's Tragedy, iii. 2. 
4. To blow or breathe on so as to injure, as 
a sudden gust or destructive wind; cause to 
fade, shrivel, or wither; check the growth of 
and prevent from coming to maturity and pro- 
ducing fruit ; blight, as trees or plants. 
Seven thin ears, and blasted with the east wind. 
Gen. xli. 6. 
Say . . . why 
Upon this blasted heath you stop our way? 
Shot., Macbeth, L 3. 
Since this I live to see, 
Some bitter north wind Hast my flocks and me ! 
Fletcher, Faithful Shepherdess, iii. 1. 
5. To blight or cause to come to nothing, as by 
some pernicious influence ; bring destruction, 
calamity, or infamy upon ; ruin : as, to blast 
pride, hopes, reputation, happiness. 
With Hecate's ban thrice blasted. Shot., Hamlet, 111. _'. 
The prosecutor urged that this might Mast her reputa- 
tion, and that it was in effect a boasting of favours which 
he had never received. Attitimii, Cases of False Delicacy. 
He shows himself . . . malicious if he knows I deserve 
credit and yet goes about to Mast it. Stillinyjteet. 
6. To curse; strike with the wrath of heaven. 
His name be ever blasted ! 
For his accursed shadow has betrmy'd 
The sweetness of all youth. 
Fletcher, Double Marriage, T. 1 
Calling on their Maker to curse them, . . . Malt them, 
and damn them. Macaulay, Hist Eng., lit. 
blast-, -blast. See blasta-. 
Blastactinota (blas-tak-ti-no'ta), n. pi. [NL., 
< Gr. BOmnttt a germ (see blasius), + iuertvu/r^, 
furnished with rays : see actinote.] A class of 
radiate animals: same as Blastoidea. Bronn, 
1860. 
blastaea (blas-te'S), . [NL., < Gr. /ttooror, a 
germ: see blastus.} The hypothetical parent 
form of the Blast&ida. 
We call this the Planaea or Klastoea. 
llaeckel, Kvol. of Man (trans.), II. 61. 
blastsead (blas-te'ad), n. [< blasttfa + -o<Jl.] 
1. Same as blasta-id. 2. One of certain exis- 
blasting 
tent animals, as the Norwegian llimmer-ball, 
which permanently resemble a blastula or pla- 
nula. 
blastaeid (blas-te'id), n. One of the hypotheti- 
cal Htiixta'idte. 
Blastaeida (blas-te'i-de), n. /. [NL., < blas- 
tcea + -a In . \ A hypothetical group of animals 
having permanently the form of a blastula, 
planula, or vesicular morula. Less correctly 
written Blagtamdtx. 
blast-box (blast'boks), n. A chamber into 
or through which the air of a blowing-engine 
passes. 
These hearers may connect at their front ends In any 
desired manner with the blast-pipe, and at their rear ends 
with a Mast-lioje. Un, Diet., IV. 468. 
blasted (l)lHs't cd ),/... 1. Confounded; exe- 
crable; detestable: used as a milder form of 
imprecation than damned. 
Some of her own blasted gypsies. 
Scott, Guy Mannering, II. 13. 
2. In In- 1:, deprived of leaves: said of a tree 
or a branch. 
blastelasma (blas-te-las'mS). n. ; pi. blastelas- 
mata (-ma-tft). [NL., < Gr. /ttaorof, a germ (see 
<x), + 'lfaa/ia, a (metal) plate, < cfaiiveiv 
, drive, strike, beat out.] In embryol., a 
secondary germ-layer ; a germ-layer, as the 
mespderm, appearing, if at all, after the for- 
mation of the two primary layers called en- 
dodenn and ectoderm, or blastophylla. 
blastema (blas-te'ma), n. ; pi. btastemata (-ma- 
tft). [NL., < Gr. fiManitia, a shoot, sprout, 
< fihaarelv. jftjaar&vtiv. sprout, bud, shoot.] 1. 
In lint. : (a) Originally, the axis of an embryo, 
consisting of the radicle and the growing- 
point at its summit, (b) In later use, the ini- 
tial point of growth from which any organ or 
part of an organ is developed, (c) Sometimes, 
the thai Ins of cryptogamous plants. 2. In 
iinat. and phys., the bioplasm or protoplasm of 
a germinating ovum; the substance of the 
blastomeres, blastoderm, etc. ; granular forma- 
tive material. [The term is now being super- 
seded by more special names of substances 
and stages of germination.] 
blastemal (blas-te'mal), a. [< blastema + -al.] 
Of or pertaining to blastema; rudimentary: as, 
blastemal formations. 
blastematic (blas-te-mat'ik), a. Blastemic. 
blastemlc (blas-tem'ik), a. [< blastema + -e.] 
Pertaining to blastema; consisting of blas- 
tema ; bioplasmic ; bioplastic. 
blast-engine (blast'en'jin), . 1. A ventilat- 
ing-macnine used, especially on shipboard, to 
draw off foul air. 2. A machine for producing 
a blast by compressing air for use m urging 
the fire of a furnace. 
blaster (blas'ter), n. One who or that which 
blasts, in any sense of the verb. 
I am no blaster of a lady's beauty, 
Nor bold intruder on her special favours. 
Fletcher, Rule a Wife, L 1. 
Blasteroidea (blas-te-roi'de-a), n. pi. [NL.] 
Same as Blastoidea. 
blastful (blast'ful), a. [< blast + -//.] Full 
of blasts ; exposed to blasts ; windy. 
blast-furnace (blast 'fer'nas), n. A furnace, 
usually vertical, or a so-called shaft-furnace, 
in which ores are smelted by the aid of a blast 
of air. See furnace. 
blast-gate (blast'gat), n. The valved nozle or 
stop-cock of a blast-pipe. 
blast-hearth (bl&st'harth), n. The Scotch ore- 
hearth for reducing lead ores. 
blast-hole (blast :'hol), n. 1. In mining, the 
hole through which water enters the bottom or 
wind-bore of a pump. 2. The hole into which 
a cartridge is inserted in blasting. 
blasti, . Plural of blastus. 
blastide (blas'tid or -tid), n. [< Gr. /ftaorof, 
a germ, + -iVfe 2 .] In biol., a minute clear 
space on the segments of the fecundated ovum 
of an organism, which is the primary indica- 
tion of the cytoblast or nucleus. 
blastie (blas'ti), n. [< blast + dim. -te.] A 
blasted or shriveled dwarf ; a wicked or trouble- 
some creature. Burns. [Scotch.] 
blasting (bias' ting), n. [< ME. blastynge ; verbal 
n. otblast, v.] 1. A blast; destruction by a 
pernicious cause ; blight. 
I have smitten you with biastinff and mildew. 
Amo IT. 8. 
2. The operation of splitting rocks by gun- 
powder or other explosive Blasting-corn pounds, 
substances used in blasting. The more important are 
