bleed 
person would begin to bleed if the murderer 
approached it. 
The murdering of her Marquis of Ancre will yet bleed, 
as some fear. Howell, Letters, I. i. 19. 
4. To shed one's blood ; be severely wounded 
or die, as in battle or the like. 
Cwsar must bleed for it. Shak., 3. C., il. 1. 
5. To lose sap, gum, or juice, as a tree or a vine. 
For me the balm shall bleed, and amber flow. 
Pope, Windsor Forest, 1. 393. 
6. To pay or lose money freely; be subjected 
to extortion of money : as, they made him bleed 
freely for that whim. [Slang.] 7. in dyeing, 
to be washed out: said of the color of a dyed 
fabric when it stains water in which it is im- 
mersed. O'Neill, Dyeing and Cal. Printing, p. 
105. 8. To leak; become leaky. 
The defects in the plates, whose presence may not even 
be suspected, become exposed, and being attacked anew 
by the acids in the water used for washing out the boiler, 
which are not neutralized by the soda, are caused to 
bleed. It. Wilson, Steam Boilers, p. 174. 
9. To yield; produce: applied to grain. 
[Scotch.] 
II. trans. 1. To cause to lose blood, as by 
wounding; take blood from by opening a vein, 
as in phlebotomy. 2. To lose, as blood; emit 
or distil, as juice, sap, or gum. 
A decaying pine of stately size bleeding amber. Miller. 
8. To extort or exact money from; sponge 
on: as, the sharpers bled him freely. [Slang.] 
He [Shaykh Masud] returned in a depressed state, hav- 
ing been bled by the soldiery at the well to the extent of 
forty piastres, or about eight shillings. 
R. F. Burton, El-Medinah, p. 360. 
4. In dyeing, to extract the coloring matter 
from (a dye-drug). Napier. 5. In bookbind- 
ing, to trim the margin of (a book) so closely 
as to mutilate the print To bleed a buoy 
(naut.\ to let out of a buoy water which has leaked into 
It. To bleed the brakes, in alocomotive, to relieve the 
pressure on the air-brakes by opening the bleeding-valve 
or release-cock of the brake-cylinder. 
bleeder (ble'der), w. 1. One who lets blood. 
2. A person who is naturally predisposed to 
bleed. See hemophilia. 
bleed-hearts (bled'harts), . The scarlet lych- 
nis, Lychnis Chalcedonica. 
bleeding (ble'ding), . [Verbal n. of bleed, v.] 
1. A running or issuing of blood, as from the 
nose ; a hemorrhage ; the operation of letting 
blood, as in surgery. 2. The drawing of sap 
from a tree or plant. 3. In bookbinding, an 
excessive trimming down of the margins of a 
book, which cuts into and mutilates the print. 
bleeding-heart (ble'ding-hart), . 1. In Eng- 
land, a name of the wall-flower, Cheiranthus 
Cheiri. 2. A common name of some species 
of Dicentra, especially D. spectabilis from 
China, from the shape of the flowers. 3. A 
name sometimes applied to cultivated forms of 
Coloeasia with colored leaves. 
bleeding-tooth (ble'ding-toth), n. A common 
name of a shell of the family Neritidce, Nerita 
peloronta, the toothed columella of which has 
a red blotch suggesting the name. See Nerita. 
bleekbok (blek'bok), n. [D., < bleek, = E. 
bleak 1 , pale, + bok = E. buck 1 , a goat.] The 
Dutch colonial name of the ourebi, Scopophorus 
ourebi, a small pale-colored antelope of South 
Africa, related to the steinboks. Another form 
is bleekbok. 
bleery (bler'i), . A burning brand ; a fagot. 
Also spelled bleary. [Scotch.] 
Scowder their harlgals de'ils wi' a bleary. Hogg. 
bleeze 1 (blez), w. and . A Scotch form of blaze*. 
bleeze 2 , v. i. ; pret. and pp. bleezed, ppr. bleez- 
ing. To become slightly sour, as milk. [Scotch.] 
bleifcif, a. See bleak 1 . 
bleik 2 t, n. See bleak*. 
bleint, n. A Middle English form of blain. 
bleis. n. pi. See blae, n. 
bleit 1 , bleit 2 (blat), a. Same as blate 1 , Hate*. 
[Scotch.] 
blellum (blel'um), n. [Appar. imitative of 
senseless babble. Cf. blether 1 . ] An idle, sense- 
less, talking, or noisy fellow. [Scotch.] 
A blethering, blustering, drunken blellum. 
Burns, Tarn o' Shanter. 
blemish (blem'ish), v. t. [< ME. blemisshen, 
blemissen (see -is7 2 ), wound, injure, spoil, < OF. 
blemiss-, stem of certain parts of blemir, blesmir 
(F. blemir, grow pale, =Pr. blesmar, strike, soil), 
< bleme, blcsme, pale, wan; origin uncertain.] 
1. To damage or impair (especially something 
that is well formed, or in other respects excel- 
684 
lent) ; mar or make defective ; destroy the per- 
fection of ; deface; sully. 
Vanish ; or I shall give thee thy deserving, 
And blemish Cicsar's triumph. Shak., A. and C., iv. 10. 
Sin is a soil which blemisheth the beauty of thy soul. 
It. Brathwaite. 
2. To impair morally; tarnish, as reputation 
or character; defame; stain: as, to blemish 
one's fair fame. 
On a general review of the long administration of Has- 
tings, it is impossible to deny that, against the great crimes 
by which it is blemished, we have to set off great public 
services. Macaulati, Warren Hastings. 
blemish (blem'ish), n. [< blemish, v.] 1. A 
defect, flaw, or imperfection ; something that 
mars beauty, completeness, or perfection. 
As he hath caused a blemish in a man, so shall it be done 
to him again. Lev. xxiv. 20. 
Naught had blemish there or spot, 
For in that place decay was not. 
William Morris, Earthly Paradise, I. 35& 
2. A moral defect or injury; reproach; dis- 
grace ; that which impairs reputation ; imputa- 
tion. 
That cleare she dide from blemish criminal!. 
Spenser, F. Q., II. i. 37. 
That you have been earnest should be no blemish or 
discredit at all unto you. Hooker. 
blemished (blem'isht). p. a. Having a fault or 
blemish; specifically, in her., broken or cut 
short: said of a cross, weapon, or the like, 
used as a bearing. 
blemishless (blem'ish-les), a. [< blemish, n., 
+ -less.} Without blemish; spotless; perfect; 
without defect. 
A life in all so blemishless. Feltham, Lusoria, xxxvii. 
blemishment (blem'ish-ment), n. [< blemish, 
n., + -merit.] Damage; flaw; impairment. 
For dread of blame and honours blemishment. 
Spenser, F. Q., IV. il. 36. 
blemmatrope (blem'a-trop), n. [< Gr. /3A,u/z, 
look, glance, eye (< "/3/l&rv, look), + rpciretv, 
turn.] An apparatus for illustrating the va- 
rious positions of the eye. 
blench 1 (blench), v. [In early mod. E. some- 
times spelled blanch by confusion with blanch, 
make white (see blanch 1 and blanclfi) ; < ME. 
blenchen, also blenken, occasionally blinchen, 
turn aside, evade, disconcert, usually intrans., 
shrink back, give way, < AS. blencan (= Icel. 
blekkja), deceive, supposed to be a causal form 
of 'blincan, blink (cf. drench 1 , causal of drink), 
but the latter verb does not occur in the older 
language : see blink. For the sense ' deceive,' 
cf. blear one's eyes, deceive, under blear 1 .] I. 
intrans. 1. To shrink; start back; give way; 
flinch; turn aside or fly off. 
Though sometimes you do blench from this to that. 
Shak.,M. forM., iv. 6. 
I'll tent him to the quick ; if he but blench, 
I know my course. Shak., Hamlet, It. 2. 
I know his people 
Are of his own choice, men that will not totter 
Nor blench much at a bullet. 
Fletcher, The Pilgrim, v. 3. 
2. To quail : said of the eye. 
Il.t trans. 1. To deceive; cheat. 2. To 
draw back from; shirk; avoid; elude; deny 
from fear. 
He now blenched what before ... he affirmed. Evelyn. 
3. To hinder or obstruct; disconcert; foil. 
The rebels besieged them, winning the even ground on 
the top, by carrying up great trusses of hay before them 
to hli'iifh the defendants' sight and dead their shot. 
6. Carew. 
blench 1 t (blench), n. [<. blench 1 , v.] 1. A deceit; 
a trick. 2. A sidelong glance. 
These blenches gave my heart another youth. 
Shak., Sonnets, ex. 
blench 2 (blench), a. or adv. [A variant form 
of blanch 1 , a. : see blanch 1 and blank.] Upon 
or based upon the payment of a nominal or 
trifling yearly duty : applied to a sort of tenure 
of land : as, the estate is held blench of the crown. 
See blanch-holding. 
blench 2 (blench), v. [Var. of blanch 1 , partly 
phonetic and partly by notional confusion with 
blench 1 .] I. intrans. To become pale ; blanch. 
II. trans. To make white ; blanch, 
blencher (blen'cher), n. [< blench 1 , v. : see 
blaneher 3 .] If. A scarecrow, or whatever 
frightens or turns aside or away. Sir T. Elyot. 
2t. In hunting, one placed where he can turn 
the deer from going in a particular direction ; a 
blancher. 
I feel the old man's master'd by much passion, 
And too high-rack'd, which makes him overshoot all 
His valour should direct at, and hurt those 
That stand but by as blenchers. 
Fletcher (and another), Love's Pilgrimage, ii. 1. 
blend-water 
3. One who blenches or flinches. 
blench-flrmt (blench'ferm), n. Same as blanch- 
farm. 
blench-holding (blench'hol"ding), n. Same as 
blanch-holding. 
blend 1 (blend), v. ; pret. blended, pp. blended 
or blent, ppr. blending. [< ME. blenden, mix, 
sometimes intrans., a secondary form of blan- 
den,< AS. blandan, a strong verb (= OS. blandan 
= Icel. blanda = Sw. blanda = Dan. blande = 
OHG. blantan, MHG. blandcn = Goth, blandan), 
mix: see bland*-.] I. trans. 1. To mix to- 
gether in such a way that the things mixed be- 
come inseparable, or cannot easily be separated. 
In particular : (a) To mix (different sorts or qualities of 
a commodity) in order to produce a particular brand, kind, 
or quality : as, to blend teas ; to blend tobacco, (ii) To mix 
so intimately or harmoniously that the identity or individ- 
uality of the things mixed is lost or obscured in a new 
product : as, many races are blended in the modern Eng- 
lishman. 
Rider and horse, friend, foe, in one red burial blent. 
Byron, Childe Harold, iii. 29. 
Blended and intertwisted in this life are the sources of 
joys and tears. De Quincey. 
I blend in song thy flowers and thee. 
Whittier, First Flowers. 
(c) To cause to pass imperceptibly into one another ; 
unite so that there shall be no perceptible line of division : 
as, to blend the colors of a painting. 
2f. To mix up in the mind ; confound (one 
thing with another). 3t. To stir up (a liquid); 
hence, to render turbid ; figuratively, disturb. 
4f. To pollute by mixture; spoil or corrupt. 
And all these stormes, which now his beauty blend. 
Spenser, Sonnets, Ixii. 
And thy throne royall with dishonour blent. 
Spenser, Mother Hub. Tale, 1. 1330. 
= Syn. Sfix, etc. See mingle. 
il. intrans. 1. To mix or mingle; unite in- 
timately so as to form a harmonious whole; 
unite so as to be indistinguishable. 
And Rupert's oath, and Cromwell's prayer, 
With battle thunder blended. Wh&tier, The Exiles. 
Changed seemed all the fashion of the world, 
And past and future into one did blend. 
William Morris, Earthly Paradise, I. 349. 
2. To pass imperceptibly into each other : as, 
sea and sky seemed to blend. 
The distant peaks gradually blended with the white at- 
mosphere above them. Tyndall, Glaciers, p. 196. 
It would clearly be advantageous to two varieties or 
incipient species if they could be kept from blending, on 
the same principle that, when man is selecting at the 
same time two varieties, it is necessary that he should 
keep them separate. Darmn, Origin of Species, p. 248. 
blend 1 (blend), n. [< blend 1 , v.] 1. A mixing 
or mixture, as of liquids, colors, etc. : as, tea 
of our own blend. 2. The brand, kind, or 
quality produced by mixing together different 
sorts or qualities of a commodity: as, a fine 
blend of tea ; the finest blend of whisky. 
blend 2 t, v. t. ; pret. and pp. blended, blent, ppr. 
blending. [< ME. blenden, < AS. blendan (= 
OFries. blenda, blinda = Dan. blawde = LG. 
blennen = OH.G. blentjan, blenden, MHG. G. blen- 
den), make blind; factitive verb of blind, blind: 
see blind 1 , a. andv.] To blind; deceive. 
This multiplying blent [blindeth] so many oon. 
Chaucer, Canon's Yeoman's Tale, 1. 380. 
Reason blent through passion. Spenser, F. Q., II. iv. 7. 
blendcorn (blend'kdrn), . [< blend 1 + corn. 
Cf. Dan. dial, blandekorn.] Wheat and rye 
sown and grown together. N. E. D. 
blende (blend), n. [Also blend ; blind, blinde; < 
G. blende, blende, < blenden, blind, dazzle : see 
blend 2 .] An ore of zinc ; a native sulphid of zinc, 
but commonly containing more or less iron, 
also a little cadmium, and sometimes rarer ele- 
ments (gallium, indium). Its color is mostly brown 
and black, but when pure it is yellow or even white. The 
word blende is also eniployed in such compound terms as 
manganese-blende, zinc-blende, ruby-blende, to designate 
certain minerals (sulphids of the metals) characterized by a 
brilliant non-metallic luster. Also called sphalerite, false 
ijalena, and by English miners mock lead and black-jack. 
blender (blen'der), n. One who or that which 
blends ; specifically, a brush made of badgers' 
hair, used by grainers and artists in blending. 
See blending. 
blending (blen'ding), . [Verbal n. of blend 1 , 
v.] The act or process of combining or min- 
gling. Specifically, in painting : (a) A method of laying 
on different tints so that they may mingle together while 
wet and fuse into each other insensibly. (6) The process 
of causing pigments to melt or blend together by passing a 
soft brush of fltch or badgers' hair, called a blender or soft- 
ener, over them with a delicate, feathery touch. 
blendous (blen'dus), a. [< blende + -ous.] In 
mineral., pertaining to or consisting of blende. 
blend-water (blend'wa'ter), . A distemper 
of cattle. Also called more-hough. 
