blaze 
senses confused with blazon, q. v.] If. To 
blow, as from a trumpet. 
With Ills blakc clarioun 
He gan to blanen out a soun 
As lowde as beloweth wynde in helle. 
Chaucer, House of Fame, 1. 1802. 
Hence 2. To publish; make well kuown; 
announce in a public manner. 
Till we can find a time 
To blaze your marriage. Shak., R. and J., iii. 3. 
To tell you truth, lady, his conceit was far better than 
I have blazed it yet. 
Beau, and Fl., Wit at Several Weapons, ii. 2. 
Such inusick worthiest were to blaze 
The peerless highth of her immortal praise. 
Milton, Arcades, 1. 74. 
3f. To disclose ; betray ; defame. 
To cover shame, I took thee ; never fear 
That I would blaze myself. 
Beau, and Fl., Maid's Tragedy, ii. 1. 
4. In her., to blazon. See blazon, n., 1 and 2. 
You should have blazed it thus : he bears a tierce sable 
between two tierces or. Peacham. 
Braggadochio . . . did shew his shield, 
Which bore the Sunne brode blazed in a golden field. 
Spenser, F. Q., V. iii. 14. 
blaze 2 (blaz), n. [< blaze 2 , v.~\ Publication; the 
act of spreading widely by report. [Poetic.] 
For what is glory but the blaze of fame ? 
Milton, P. K., iii. 47. 
blaze 3 (blaz), n. [= D. bles = MLG. blesse = 
MHG. Masse, G. bldsse = Icel. blest = Sw. bias 
and blasa = Dan. blis, a white spot or streak on 
the forehead (G. blouse also paleness) ; from the 
adj. represented by OHG. bias, whitish, MHG. 
bias, bald, pale, weak, G. blass, pale, wan, orig. 
' shining' ; connected with blaze 1 , a torch, flame : 
see blaze 1 ; cf . Icel. blasa, lie open to view.] 1. 
A white spot on the face of a horse, cow, ox, 
etc. See cut under blesbok. 
A square blaze in his [a sacred ox's] forehead. 
Coutley, Plagues of Egypt, note to st. 10. 
2. A white mark made on a tree, as by remov- 
ing a piece of the bark, to indicate a boundary, 
or a path or trail in a forest. [Orig. American.] 
3. A local English name of the bleak. 
blaze 3 (blaz), v. t.; pret. and pp. biased, ppr. 
blazing. [= MLG. blesset, pp. ; < blaze 3 , .] 
1. To mark with a white spot on the face, as 
a horse : only in the perfect participle blazed. 
2. To set a mark on, as a tree, usually by cut- 
ting off a piece of its bark, so as to show a 
white spot. 
As for me, the son and the father of Uncas, I am a blazed 
pine in the dealing of the pale-faces. 
Cooper, Last of Mohicans, xxxiii. 
3. To indicate or mark out, as by cutting off 
pieces of the bark of a number of trees in suc- 
cession: as, to blaze a path through a forest. 
Champolliou died in 1832, having done little more than 
blaze out the road to be traveled by others. Nott. 
blaze 4 (blaz), n. [E. dial, (not found in ME. 
or AS.), = MLG. blase, a bladder, = OHG. bld- 
o, MHG. blase, G. blasen, a bladder, bubble, 
blister, pimple ; from the verb blaze? (= OHG. 
Mi I.IK n, MHG. G. blasen), blow : see blaze%, and 
cf. blast and blister.'] A pimple. [Prov. Eng.] 
blaze 5 (blaz), n. [Origin uncertain.] Same as 
brash 1 , 4 (a). 
blaze 11 (blaz), n. pi. Irregular spelling of blaes, 
plural of blae. See blae, n. 
blazer 1 (bla'zer), n. [< blaze 1 + -er 1 .] 1. Any- 
thing that blazes, or is intensely luminous or 
hot: as, the day was a blazer. 2. A dish under 
which there is a receptacle for coals to keep it 
hot. 3. A bright-colored loose coat, usually of 
flannel, worn by tennis- and cricket-players. 
The origin of the word is as follows : The uniform of 
the Lady Margaret Boat Club of St. John's College, Cam- 
bridge, is bright red, and the Johnian jackets have for 
many years been called Mazers. Up to a few years ago 
the inaccurate modern use of blazer for a jacket of any 
other colour than red was unknown. 
N. and Q., 7th ser., III. 486. 
blazer 2 (bla'zer), . [< Maze* + -er 1 .] 1. One 
who blazes ; one who publishes and spreads re- 
ports: as, "blazers of cryme," Spenser, P. Q., 
II. ix. 25. 2f. Ablazoner. 
blazer 3 (bla'zer), n. [< blaze^ + -erl.] One 
who blazes a tree. 
blazingly (bla'zing-li), adv. In a blazing man- 
ner. 
blazing-star (bla' zing-star'), n. 1. In her., a 
comet used as a bearing. It is represented bend- 
wise as a star of six points with a tail streaming from it. 
2. A name in the United States for several 
very different plants, (a) The Aletris farinosa, a 
low herbaceous plant, natural order Htemodoraceae, with 
whitish mealy flowers. The roots are bitter, and have 
some repute in medicine. Also called colic-root, (b) The 
582 
starwort (Chamcelinum Carolinianum), natural order Li- 
liacete, the roots of which yield a bitter tonic, (c) A spe- 
cies of Liatris, L. squarrosa, natural order Composites, one 
of the many popular remedies for rattlesnake-bites. 
3. A stampede of pack-mules or other animals 
from a central point. [Western U. S. slang.] 
blazon (bla'zn), H. [< ME. Mason, blasoun, a 
shield, = MD. blasoen, D. blazoen, < OF. blason, 
blazon (= Pr. blezo, blizo = Sp. blason = Pg. bla- 
sSo, brasSo = It. btosone), a shield with a coat of 
arms painted on it, the coat of arms itself (the 
Pr. and Sp. terms mean also honor, glory, fame) ; 
usually referred to MHG. blasen, OHG. blasan, 
blow, hence sound a trumpet, proclaim, blaze 
(see blaze 2 ) ; by some to blaze 1 ; but the orig. 
sense 'shield,' with other facts, is against such 
derivation. In ME. and mod. E. blaze 2 and 
blazon are of course associated in thought.] 1. 
In her., a shield with arms on it ; armorial bear- 
ings; a coat of arms; a banner bearing arms. 
The chief functionaries of city and province, ... all 
marching under emblematical standards or time-honored 
blazons. Motley, Dutch Republic, III. 633. 
2. A description in technical language of ar- 
morial bearings. Peculiar and fantastic changes in- 
troduced by certain heralds are chiefly in the blazon, and 
not in the graphic representation : thus, when the arms of 
nobles are described by precious stones (sapphire instead 
of azure, topaz instead of or, and the like), or when the 
arms of sovereigns are described by the planets, the 
description only is peculiar, the drawing and coloring of 
the achievement being of the same character as those of 
ordinary bearings. 
3f. Interpretation; explanation. 
I think your blazon to be true. Shak., Much Ado, ii. 1. 
4. Publication; show; celebration; pompous 
display, either by words or by other means. 
But this eternal blazon must not be 
To ears of flesh and blood. Shak., Hamlet, i. 6. 
blazon (bla'zn), v. t. [= MD. blasoenen = G. 
blasoniren, < F. blasonner, blazon, = Sp. blaso- 
nar, blazon, brag, boast, = It. blasonare, blazon 
(ML. blazonare) ; from the noun. Cf. blaze? in 
similar senses.] 1. To explain in proper her- 
aldic terms (the arms or bearings on a shield). 
King Edward gave to them the coat of aims which I am 
not herald enough to blazon into English. Addismi. 
2. To depict (armorial bearings) according to 
the rules of heraldry. [An incorrect use of 
the word, not recognized by heralds.] 3. To 
inscribe with arms, or some ornament ; adorn 
with blazonry. 
The blood-red flag of the Sacred Office . . . blazoned 
upon either side with the portraits of Alexander and of 
Ferdinand. Motley, Dutch Republic, II. iii. 166. 
What matter whose the hillside grave, 
Or whose the blazoned stone? 
Whittier, The Countess. 
4. To deck; embellish; adorn as with bla- 
zonry. 
Then blazons in dread smiles her hideous form. 
Garth, The Dispensary, ii. 
The bottom of the valley was a bed of glorious grass, 
blazoned with flowers. 
B. Taylor, Lands of the Saracen, p. 280. 
5. To display: exhibit conspicuously; make 
known; publish. 
For better farre it were to hide their names, 
Than telling them to blazon out their blames. 
Spenser, Teares of the Muses. 
Blazoning our injustice everywhere. 
Shak., Tit. And., iv. 4. 
And blazon o'er the door their names in brass. 
Byron, Don Juan, xi. 31. 
6. To proclaim or publish boastingly; boast of. 
My friend Lancelot is not a man to blazon anything. 
Irving, Salmagundi, p. 124. 
blazoner (bla'zn-er), . 1. One who blazons ; 
a herald. 2. One who publishes or proclaims 
with strong or extravagant praise. 
blazoning (bla'zn-ing), n. In her., the art of 
describing armorial bearings. See blazon, n. 
blazonment (bla'zn-ment), n. [< blazon + 
-ment.~\ The act of blazoning; emblazonment. 
blazonry (bla'zn-ri), n. [< blazon + -ry.] 1. 
The art of describing or explaining coats of 
arms in proper heraldic terms and method. 
Bob has done more to set the public right on this Im- 
portant point of blazonry than the whole College of Her- 
alds. Lamb, Newspapers Thirty-five Years ago. 
2. Emblazonry; decoration in color, as with 
heraldic devices ; brilliant decoration ; splen- 
dor. 
The gorgeous building and wild blazonry of that shrine 
of St. Mark's. Jtuskin. 
So much subtler is a human mind than the outside 
tissues which make a sort of blazonry or clockface for it. 
George Eliot, Middlemarch, 1, 12. 
3. Figuratively, display. 
bleach-field 
blazy (bla'zi), a. [< blaze 1 -f -y 1 .'] Burning 
brightly; blazing: as, a blazy fire. [Bare.] 
blet, A Middle English form of blee. 
-ble. [ME. -ble (-bel, -bil, -byl, -bid), < OF. -ble, 
mod. F. -ble = Pr. Sp. -ble = Pg. -vel = It. -bile, 
< L. -bilis, ace. -bilem, a suffix (< -bi- + -li-s), 
forming adjectives, usually with a passive sig- 
nification, from verbs ending with one of the 
vowels -a, -e, -i, -4, -6, -u, being the root- or 
stem-vowel or (as usually -f) a mere insertion, 
as in admird-bilis, dele-bilis, sepeli-bilis, cred-4- 
bilis, ignd-bilis, mp-bilis, volu-bilis, etc. ; rarely 
from perfect participles, as in flex-i-bilis, plaus- 
f-bilis, etc. See further under -able. Adjec- 
tives in -ble are accompanied by adverbs in 
-bly, contr. from -ble-ly, and nouns in -ble-ness 
or, according to the L., in -bil-ity, as credi-ble, 
credi-bleness, credi-bility. In many words the 
term, -ble is of different origin, as in nimble, 
hamble, humble, marble, parable, syllable, etc., 
divided etymologically nimb-le, humb-le, etc.. 
the real term, being -le, of various origin.] 
A suffix of Latin origin, occurring in adjectives 
having originally a passive signification, which 
is retained more or less fully in adjectives ac- 
companied by verbs derived from the infinitive 
or perfect participle (English -ate or -it) of the 
same Latin verb, as in commendable, admirable, 
dissoluble, etc., habitable, imitable, tolerable, navi- 
gable, etc., 'credible, etc., but is not obvious in 
adjectives not accompanied by such verbs, as 
in equable, delectable, horrible, terrible, ignoble, 
voluble, feeble, etc. In English it is felt and used 
as a suffix only with the preceding vowel, -able 
or -ible. See -able, -ible. 
blea 1 , a. and n. See blae. 
blea 2 (ble), n. [Origin uncertain; perhaps < 
blea 1 = blae, pale (see blae). Cf. Sc. blae, blay, 
rough parts of wood left in sawing or boring.] 
The part of a tree immediately under the bark; 
the alburnum or white wood. [Bare.] 
bleaberry, . Same as blaeberry. 
bleach 1 (blech), v. [< ME. blechen, < AS. blcecan 
(= D. bleeken = OHG. bleichen, MHG. G. blei- 
clwn = Icel. bleikja = Sw. bleka = Dan. blege), 
make white, cause to fade (cf. bldcian, become 
white or pale), < bide, pale, bleak: see bleak 1 , 
blake.~\ I. trans. To make white or whiter by 
removing color; whiten; blanch; make pale; 
specifically, to whiten (as linen, etc.) by wash- 
ing and exposure to the action of the air and 
sunlight, or by chemical preparations. See 
bleaching. 
Immortal liberty, whose look sublime 
Hath bleached the tyrant's cheek in every varying clime. 
Smollett, Ode to Independence. 
The bones of men, 
In some forgotten battle slain, 
And bleached by drifting wind and rain. 
Scott, L. of the L., iii. 5. 
The robed and mitred apostles, bleached and rain-washed 
by the ages, rose into the blue air like huge snow figures. 
H. James, Jr., Trans. Sketches, p. 210. 
= Syn. Blanch, etc. See whiten. 
II. intrans. 1 . To become white in any man- 
ner ; become pale or colorless. 
Along the snows a stiffened corse, 
Stretched out and bleaching in the northern blast. 
Thomson, Winter, 1. 321. 
2. To become morally pure. [Rare.] 
bleach^, a. [< ME. bleche (bleche), < AS. blSc, 
var. of bide, pale: see bleak 1 , Wake, and cf. 
bleach 1 , i>.] 1. Pale. 2. Bleak. 
bleach 1 (blech), n. [< ME. bleche, < AS. blwco, 
paleness, < bide, pale: see bleak 1 ."] If. A dis- 
ease of the skin. Holland, tr. of Pliny. 2. 
[< bleach 1 , .] An act of bleaching; exposure 
to the sun or other bleaching agency or influ- 
ence. 
What is known as ' ' the three-quarter bleach " with flax. 
Sci. Amer., N. S., LVI. 249. 
bleach 2 t (blech), n. [A var. of bletch, q. v.] 
Blacking; any substance used for blacking. 
Cotgrave. 
bleacher (ble'cher), . 1. Oue who bleaches; 
one whose occupation is to whiten cloth. 2. 
A vessel used in bleaching. 3. A large shal- 
low wooden tub, lined with metal, used in dis- 
tilling petroleum ; a settling-tub. 
bleachery (ble'cher-i), n. ; pi. bteacheries (-iz). 
[< bleach 1 , v., + -ery.~\ A place for bleaching; 
an establishment where the bleaching of tex- 
tile fabrics, etc., is carried on. 
Young reprobates dyed in the wool with perversity are 
taken into a kind of moral bleachery and come out white 
as lambs. 0. W. Holmes, Old Vol. of Life, p. 354. 
bleach-field (blech'feld), . A field where cloth 
or yarn is bleached. 
