block 
Center-plate block, a pi' 1 ' f wood placed beneath the 
center-plate of a car-truck to bring it to the required 
height. Clllp of the old block, s,, ,;, v ,i. Dead 
block, "lit: of tllr pair of block* |>]aceil, one "ii each side 
of the draw-Inn- "f a railroad-car, to lessen the concussion 
when two cars rmni' together after the bnlfer-springs are 
compressed. Differential block, a double block hav- 
ing sheaves of different sizes. K. II. K niyht, Erratic 
block. See . . ratlc. Fly-block, num.. a movable block 
In a purchase or compound tackle like a Spanish burton. 
Hydraulic block. Bee' Long- tackle block, 
a pulley-block hiivinn two sheaves in the same plane, one 
above the oilier. Made block, a pulley-block formed oi 
several pieces. Nlnepln block, a bloek shaped some- 
what like a nine], in. with a single sheave pivoted at the 
top and bottom that it may accommodate itself to the 
motion of the rope for which it serves as a guide. It 
Is placed under the cross-pieces of the bltts on a vessel. 
Purchase block, it double-strapped block with two scores 
in the shell, used for moving heavy weights on shipboard. 
Rouse-about block, a large snatch-block. Thlck- 
and-thln block, a addle-block. 
block 1 (blok), v. t. [< block*, . Cf. block*, 
v. f.] 1. To strengthen or support bv blocks ; 
make firm, as two boards at their inferior angle 
of intersection, by pieces of wood glued to- 
gether. 2. To form into blocks. 3. To mold, 
shape, or stretch on a block : as, to block a hat. 
4. In bookbinding, to ornament by means of 
brass stamps; stamp: as, to block the boards 
of a book. [Eng.] 5. In calico-printing, to 
press up or apply to the blocks containing the 
colors. 6. To straighten and toughen by lay- 
ing on a block of wood and striking with a 
narrow, flat-faced hammer; planish: said of 
saw-blades To block down, to force sheet-metal, 
without breaking it, into a die, in cases where the irregu- 
larities of the mold are so great that the metal is likely to 
be torn, by covering it with a block of lead, which is then 
carefully hammered. The yielding of the lead gives a 
slow drawing action to the metal beneath it. enabling it 
to be gradually brought to its bed. To block In, in stat- 
uary or painting, to outline roughly or bring approxi- 
mately to the desired shape ; form the outlines, founda- 
tion, or general plan of any work, disregarding the details ; 
execute roughly. 
The next step is to Mcfc in the shadows in their general 
forms, dividing the whole head into two distinct masses 
of light and shade. F. Fowler, Charcoal Drawing, p. 40. 
To block out, to form the plan or outlines of; sketch. 
But Washington had some hand In blocking out this re- 
public. S. Lanier, The English Novel, p. 50. 
block 2 (blok), n. [In this sense the noun, in 
E., is in most senses due rather to the verb: 
see block?, v. The orig. noun is found once in 
ME. blok, an inclosed space ; cf. OF. bloc, bar- 
rier, post, wall (>OF. bloquer, F. bloquer, stop, 
block : see the verb ; the mod. F. bloc goes with 
block 1 ): MD. block, post, stocks (of. btocklands, 
an inclosed piece of ground, ditch, swamp, 
MLG. block, post, stocks, LG. blokland, an in- 
closed swamp), = OFries. *blokk, in comp. 
block-syl, a sluice; OHG. biloh, confinement 
(MHG. block, a kind of trap, G. block, stocks, 
prison), < W-, = AS. bi-, be-, E. be- 1 , + loh, 
MHG. G. loch, a confined space, hole, dun- 
geon, = AS. loc, E. lock, a place shut in, etc. : 
see lock 1 . Confused more or less with the forms 
cited under block 1 , with which it is by some 
identified. See the verb following.] 1. Any 
obstruction or cause of obstruction; a stop; 
a hindrance ; an obstacle. 
The good gods assuage thy wrath, and turn the dregs of 
it upon this varlet here ; this, who, like a block, hath de- 
nied my access to thee. Shak., Cor., v. 2. 
Hence 2. The state of being blocked or 
stopped up ; a stoppage, as of carriages : as, a 
block on a railway ; a block in the street. Block 
system, a system of working railway traffic, according to 
which the line is divided into sections of a mile or more, 
with a signal and telegraphic connection at the end of 
each section ; the principle of the system being that no 
train is allowed to leave any one section till the next 
succeeding section is entirely clear, so that betwe- n tv\o 
successive trains there is preserved not merely a definite 
interval of time, but also a definite interval of space. 
block 2 (blok), v. t. [Associated with the noun 
block 2 , but orig. (as an E. word) < OF. bloquei; 
F. bloquer (> also Pr. blocar = Sp. Pg. bloquear 
= It. bloccnre), block, blockade, stop up, < OF. 
bloc, block, barrier, obstruction : see Woofc*, n . 
Cf. D. blokkeren = S\v. blockera = Dan. blok- 
kere = G. blockicmt, blockade; D. blokken = 
G. blacken, study hard, plod, = LG. blokken, 
stay at home and study or work, orig., it seems, 
lock one's self in; MLG. blacken, put into the 
stocks.] 1. To hinder passage from or to; 
prevent ingress or caress; stop up; obstruct 
by placing obstacles in the way : often follow- 
ed by up : as, to block up a town or a road. 
With moles would block the port. 
Bowf, tr. of Lucan's Pharsalia, Ii. 
There is no small despair, sir, of their safety, 
Whose ears are blocked up against the truth. 
Fletcher (and othert). Bloody Brother, Iv. 1. 
was on every side blockaded by the 
Macaulay, Warren Hastings. 
591 
Weak saints being as formidable impediments as the 
strong sinners, both blocking the ways of amendment. 
Alcott, Tablet*, p. MX 
2. In base-ball and cricket, to stop (a ball) with 
the bat without knocking it to a distance. 3. 
In foot-ball, to stop (a player) when running 
with the ball. 
blockade (blo-kad'), n. [Cf. D. blokkade = G. 
blockade = Sw. blockad = Dan. blokkade, from 
the E. ; from the verb block? (F. bloquer) + -ade* ; 
cf. stockade, barricade, palisade, etc. Cf. Sp. 
bloqueo, Pg. bloqueio, It. blocco, also bloccatura, 
blockade, from the verbs corresponding to 
block?, q. v.] 1. The shutting up of a place, 
particularly a port, harbor, or line of coast, by 
hostile ships or troops, so as to stop all ingress 
or egress, and to hinder the entrance of sup- 
plies of provisions, ammunition, or reinforce- 
ments. 
The word blockade properly denotes obstructing the pas- 
sage Into or from a place on either element, but is more 
especially applied to naval forces preventing communi- 
cation by water. Wooltey, Introd. to Inter. Law, $ 186. 
Hence 2. A hindrance to progress or action 
caused by obstructions of any kind Paper 
blockade, a constructive blockade ; a blockade estab- 
lished by proclamation, without the actual presence of a 
force adequate to make it effectual. To break a block- 
ade. See break. to raise a blockade, to remove or 
break up a blockade, either by withdrawing the ships or 
troops that keep the place blocked up, or by driving 
them away from their respective stations. To run a 
blockade, to pass through a blockading squadron and 
enter the port blockaded by it. 
blockade (blo-kad'), v. t.; pret. and pp. block- 
aded, ppr. blockading. [< blockade, n.] 1. 
To subject to a blockade ; prevent ingress or 
egress from by warlike means. 
The building . 
insurgents. 
Hence 2. To shut in by obstacles of any kind ; 
block; obstruct. 
Every avenue to the hall was blockaded. 
Pretcott, Ferd. and Isa., ii. 19. 
blockader (blo-ka'der), n. One who or that 
which blockades; especially, a vessel employed 
in blockading. 
Having a good pilot and little depth, she could general- 
ly run well inside of the blockaderi. 
J. R. Soley, Blockade and Cruisers, p. 160. 
blockade-runner (blo-kad'run'er), . A per- 
son or a vessel engaged in the business of run- 
ning a blockade. 
blockage (blok'aj), n. [< block? + -age.] Ob- 
struction ; the state of being blocked up or ob- 
structed. 
blockan (blok'an), n. [Appar. due to E. black. 
Cf. bleck. Ir. blocan means ' a little lump. 1 ] A 
local Irish (County Down) name of the young 
coalfish. 
block-and-block (blok'and-blok'), a. See block 
and block, under block 1 , n. 
block-bond (blok'bond), n. In bricklaying, an 
arrangement in which headers and stretchers, 
or bricks laid lengthwise and across, succeed 
each other alternately. Also called garden- 
bond. 
block-book (blok'btik), n. A book printed from 
blocks of wood having the letters or figures cut 
on them in relief. Specifically, a kind of small book 
so printed in Europe before the invention of movable 
types, consisting generally of coarsely cut religious or 
historical pictures, with illustrative texts or descriptions 
In Gothic letters. 
The next step in the progress of wood engraving, subse- 
quent to the production of single cuts. . . . was the appli- 
cation of tin- art to the production of those works which 
are known to bibliographers by the name of block-books. 
Chatto, Wood Engraving, p. 58. 
block-coal (blok'kol), . A peculiar kind of 
coal, found in the Indiana coal-fields, which 
breaks readily into large square blocks, and is 
used raw, or without coking, in the smelting of 
iron. 
block-colors (blok'kul'orz), ii. pi. Colors laid 
on with blocks, as in block-printing. 
blocker (blok'er), n. 1. One who blocks: used 
specifically in hat-making, shoemaking, book- 
binding, etc. 2. A blocking-tool or -machine. 
block-furnace (blok'fer'nas), n. Same as 
bloomeru. 
blockhead (blok'hed), . [< block* + head; cf. 
block 1 , w.,5.] If. A head-shaped piece of wood 
used as a block for hats or wigs. Hence 2f. 
A head containing no more intelligence or 
sense than a block ; a blockish head. 
Your wit ... is strongly wedged up in a block head. 
Shak., Cor., U. 3. 
Are not you a Portuguese born, descended o' the Moors. 
and came hither into Seville with your master an arrant 
tailor, in your red bonnet and your blue jacket, lousy; 
though now your block-Head be covered with the Spanish 
bloek? Fletcher (and another), Love's Cure, iL 1. 
blockish 
That I could not think of this as well as he '. 
O, I could beat my Infinite blockhead. 
II. Joiuon, The Devi] is an Ass, ill. 1. 
3. A person possessing such a head ; a stupid 
f i -I low; a dolt; a person deficient in under- 
standing. 
Madam, 'twere dulness paut the Ignorance 
< >i common Mockhradit not to understand 
Whereto this favour tends. 
Ford, Love's Sacrifice, L t. 
I In hookful blockhead, ignorantly read, 
With loads of learned lumber in his heiuL 
1'npe, Essay on Criticism, 1. 612. 
blockheaded (blok'hed-ed), a. [< black* + 
head + -eit?.] Stupid ; dull : as, "a blockheaded 
boy,'' .Sir K. L'Kxtrtmge. [Bare.] 
blockheadism (blok'ned-izm), n. [< blockhead 
+ -ism.'] The character of a blockhead; stu- 
pidity. [Bare.] 
Reduced to that state of blockheaditm which Is so con- 
spicuous in his master. C. Smart. 
blockheadly (blok'hed-li), o. K blockhead + 
-fy 1 .] Acting like a blockhead ; densely stupid: 
as, "some blockheadly hero," Dryden, Amphi- 
tryon, i. 2. [Rare.] 
blockhouse (blok'hous), n. [< block? + house; 
= D. blokhuis, OD. blockhuys = MLG. blockhtis 
= G. blockhaus (> F. blockhaus) = Dan. btokhux 
= Sw. lit IK-/, has. blockhouse, older form blocus; 
orig. a house that blocks a passage, though 
later taken as a house made of logs (< block* 
+ Itoiixi ).\ Originally, a detached fort block- 
ing the access to a landing, a mountain 
pass, narrow channel, etc. ; in later use, an edi- 
fice of one or more stories, constructed chiefly 
of hewn timber, and supplied with loopholes 
for musketry 
and sometimes 
with embra- 
sures for can- 
non. When of 
more than one 
story, the upper is 
made to overhang 
the lower, and is 
furnished with 
machicolations or 
loopholes in the 
overhung floor, so 
that a lunging fire 
can be directed 
against the enemy 
in close attack. When a blockhouse stands alone, it con- 
stitutes an independent fort, a form which is often very 
useful in a rough country ; when It is erected in the in- 
terior of a fleldwork, it becomes a retrenchment or re- 
doubt. Stockades are sometimes called blockhouses, 
blockiness (blok'i-nesy, . In photog.. the state 
of being blocky; indistinctness and uneven- 
Blockhou&e. 
a, a, loopholes for musketry. 
blocking (blok r ing), n. [Verbal n. of block*, .] 
1. The act of blocking, or the state of being 
blocked, in any sense of the verb block*, specifi- 
cally (a) The impressing, either in gold or Ink, or with- 
out color, of a design on the covers of a book : in the 
United States usually called stamping, (b) The process of 
bend i UK leather into shapes for the fronts or soles of boots. 
2. Blocks used to support anything temporarily. 
3. A small rough piece of wood fitted in 
and glued to the interior angle formed by two 
boards, in order to strengthen the joint be- 
tween them Blind blocking, 
in bookbinding, blind stamping ; the 
process of decorating a book by pres- 
sure, usually with heat, but without ^ 
the use of Ink or gold-leaf. f t * 
blocking-course (blok ' ing- 
kors), n. In arch., a plain 
member of square profile, 
either a single course of stone, r\ 
Or built Up Of brickS Or the a blocking-conne- 
like to the required height, *. cornice : <. r.ce of 
surmounting a cornice in the "*"' 
Roman ana Renaissance styles. Its vertical 
face is usually in the plane of the wall or frieze 
below the cornice. 
blocking-hammer (blok 'ing- ham 'er), n. A 
hammer used in straightening saw-blades. 
blocking-kettle (blok'ing-ket'l), n. In hat- 
making, the hot bath in which felts are soften- 
ed before being blocked. 
blocking-machine (blok'ing-ma-shen'), . An 
apparatus for pulling, forming, pressing, and 
blocking the bodies of hats; a olocker. 
blocking-press (blok'ing-pres), . A press 
used for stamping designs on book-covers: 
known in the United States as a stamping-press. 
blockish (blok'ish), a. K block* + -w*i.] Like 
a block ; stupid ; dull ; deficient in understand- 
ing: as, "blockish Ajax," Shak., T. andC., i. 3. 
Beauty, say we, U the mainUiner of valour. Who Is so 
blunt as knows it not? who is so Woc*i*A as will not and 
may with justice defend It? 
Ford, Honour Triumphant, ii. 
