blow 
hloom, flourish ; of. flds (flor-), a flower. From 
tlic same root, with various fonnatives, corae 
htiHinil (ami prob. /</<</'-'), htoiuaim, lilmrtli, 
liliHxl, and, from tho b., Jlmn-i; Hour, llmirixli. 
('(tlin'i'Kci', etc.] I. intninx. 1. To blossom or 
put forth flowers, as n plant; open out, as a 
flower: as, a \\v\\-hlou rose. 
How Mum the citron nnne. Milton, P. L., V. 22. 
To mi' the meanest Mciwer that iilum can give 
Thoughts that do often lie' t ..... leep fur tears. 
ii ,,iti*n'>.,th. ode to Immortality. 
2. Figuratively, to flourish ; hloom ; become 
perfected. 
II. trun-s. To make to blow or blossom; cause 
to produce, as flowers or blossoms. [Poetic.] 
The odorous hanks, that '/"" 
Flowers of more mingled hew. 
MHiuH, ('oniiu, 1. 993. 
For these Favonius here shall Wow 
Mew flowers. R. Jonimi, Masque at Highgatc. 
blow 15 (blo), n. [< Moic*, r.] 1. Blossoms in 
general; a mass or bed of blossoms: as, the 
lil: in- is good this season. 
He (relieved he eould show me such a Mow of tulips as 
was not to be matched in the whole country. 
Adduon, Tatler, No. 218. 
2. The state or condition of blossoming or 
flowering ; honce, the highest state or perfec- 
tion of anything; bloom: as, a tree in full blow. 
Her beuuty himlly yet in its full Mow. 
, Sir Charles Grandison, I. ii. 
blow 3 (blo), . [Early mod. E. also blowe, blot, 
< late ME. (Sc.) blnw; origin uncertain. Plau- 
sibly explained as from an unrecorded verb, 
ME. "blewcn, < AS. "blcowan (strong verb, pret. 
"bledw, pp. "blowen) = MD. bloween, blai'/nn n, 
strike, beat, D. blouwen, beat, esp. beat or 
break flax or hemp, = MLG. bluicen, LG. bUiuen 
= OHG. bliuiran, oilman, MHG. bliitwen, liliin n. 
G. blaurn, beat, drub (in G. and LG. modified 
under association with blau, blue, as in 'beat 
black and blue '), = Goth, bliggwan, strike, beat ; 
not related to L. flit/ere, strike, beat ( > ult. E. 
afflict, inflict, etc.), flagellum, a flail (> ult. E. 
flail, flagellate, etc.). The absence of the verb 
from ME. and A8. records is remarkable (the 
ordinary AS. word for 'strike' was slcdn, > E. 
slay), but the cognate forms favor its exis- 
tence.] 1. A stroke with the hand or fist or a 
weapon ; a thump ; a bang ; a thwack ; a knock ; 
hence, an act of hostility: as, to give one a 
blow; to strike a blow. 
He struck so plainly. I could too well feel his Wow*; 
and withal so doubtfully that I eould scarce understand 
them. Shale., C. of E., ii. 1. 
2. A sudden shock or calamity; mischief or 
damage suddenly inflicted: as, tne conflagra- 
tion was a severe blow to the prosperity of the 
town. 
It was a dreadful blow to many in the days of the Re- 
formation to tind that they had been misled. 
Pop. Set. Mo., XXVI. 243. 
At a blow, by one single action ; at one effort ; suddenly. 
Every year they gain a victory, and a town ; hut if they 
are once defeated they lose a province at a Mow. l> 
Opposed or solid blow, in inetal-workinfl. a blow which 
stretches ur thins the metal ; unopposed or hollow 
blow, a Mow which tends t thicken and bend it. To 
catch one a blow. See catch. To come to blows, to 
engage in combat, whether the combatants be individuals, 
armies, fleets, or nations. 
In 1756 Georgia and South Carolina actually caine to 
Moint HIT the navigation of the Savannah river. 
J. Fitf, Amer. Pol. Ideas, p. 95. 
blow-ball (blo'bal), n. The downy head of the 
dandelion, salsify, etc., formed by the pappus 
after the blossom has fallen. 
llrr t Trailing would not bend a blade of grass, 
Or shake tin- downy htuit'-htill from his stalk! 
B. Jonmn, Sad Shepherd, L 1. 
blow-cock (blo'kok), n. A cock in a steam- 
boiler by means of which the water may be 
partly or entirely blown out when desired. 
blowen (blo'en), . [Also blowing ; equiv. to 
hloimx, a form of blowze, q. v.] A showy, flaunt- 
ing woman ; a courtezan ; a prostitute. For- 
merly also blntrrias ami lilmriiuj. [Low slang.] 
blower 1 (blo'er), n. [< ME. ' bt<nn-r. hlmr, ;r, < 
AS. lilnii'i'ri; < liliiiftm, blow: see blote 1 ."] 1. 
One who blows. Specifically (a) One who is em- 
ployed in ;i blow mg-honae for smelting tin. Cornwall, (b) 
In a glass-factory, the workman ho blows the melted 
glass into shape. 
2. A screen or cover of metal fitted to an open 
fireplace in such a way that when it is pla.-nl 
in position access of air to the chimney is 
closed except from the bottom, or through the 
tire itself: used to promote combustion, espe- 
cially when tho lire is first kindled, by concen- 
trating the draft upon the substance to be 
597 
ignited. 3. In null-mining, an escape, under 
pressure and with high velocity, of gas or fire- 
damp from the coal. Such escapes are sometimes 
sinMeii and of short duration ; but they occasionally con- 
tinue for weeks and sometimes for years. 
4. A man employed in a mine in blasting. 5. 
A machine for forcing air into a furnace, mine, 
cistern, hold of a ship, public building, etc., to 
assist in drying, evaporating, and the like; a 
blowing-machine. See blowing-engine, Mowing- 
machine. 6. A marine animal, as a whale, 
which spouts up water. 7. 
One who brags; a boaster. 
[.Slang.] Blower and spread- 
er, a machine uniting the aetion f 
Iteaters and blowers in forming cot- 
ion into a lap. Hydraulic blow- 
er. See hydraulic. Oscillating 
blower, a blower having one or 
more blades hinged or pivoted at 
one edge, and vibrating through an 
Rotary Blower. arc of a circle. Rotary blower, a 
.-/, ff, cams ; C, box. blower similar in construction to a 
rotary pump. It has vanes the mo- 
tions of which are governed by cam-faces, or which are 
shaped in various ways to Interlock, inclosing between 
themselves and the casing volumes of air, which they car- 
ry forward. 
blower 2 (blo'er), n. [< blow*, ., + -ri.] A 
plant that blows. If, E. I). 
blowesst (blo'es), n. [A form of 6 Joioee, per- 
haps in simulation of blow 1 , with fern, suffix.] 
Same as blowen. 
blow-fly (blo'fli), n. The common name of 
Musca (Calliphora) romitoria. Sarcophaga car- 
narirt, and other species of dipterous insects, 
which deposit their eggs (flyblow) on flesh, and 
thus taint it. Also called flesh-fly. See cut 
under flesh-fly. 
blow-gun (blo'gun), . A pipe or tube through 
which missiles are blown by the breath. Those 
used by certain Indians of South America are of wood, 
from 7 to 10 feet long, with a bore not larger than the 
little finger; through them are blown poisoned arrows 
made of split cane or other light material, from a foot to 
15 inches in length, and wound at the butt with some 
fibrous material so as to fit the bore of the blow-gun. A 
similar blow-gun is in use among the Dyaks of Borneo. 
Also called Mow-tube and blowpipe. 
blow-hole (blo'hol), n. 1. The nostril of a 
cetacean, generally situated on the highest part 
of the head. In the whalebone whale< the blow-holes 
form two longitudinal slits, placed side by side. In por- 
poises, grampuses, etc., they are reduced to a single cres- 
cent-shaped opening. 
2. A hole in the ice to which whales and seals 
come to breathe. 3. Same as air-hole, 2. 4. 
In steel-manitf., a defect in the iron or steel, 
caused by the escape of air or gas while solidi- 
fication was taking place. 
The following experiments were made in order to pre- 
pare solid steel without Mow-holes by the crucible process, 
which would give a good resistance and a proper elonga- 
tion. Ure, Diet., IV. 836. 
blowing 1 (blo'ing), n. [Verbal n. of blow 1 , r.] 
A defect in china caused by the development 
of gas, by the reaction upon each other of the 
constituents of the glaze, or by a too strong 
firing. 
blowing 1 (blo'ing), . a. [Ppr. of blow 1 , r.] 1. 
Causing a current of wind ; breathing strongly. 
2. In the following phrase, liable to be 
blown about. Blowing lands, lands whose surface- 
soil is so light as to be liable, when dry, to be blown away 
by the wind. 
blowing'-t (blo'ing), n. Same as blowen. 
On a lark with black-eyed Sal (his blowing). 
Byron, Don Juan, \ i. 19. 
blowing-Charge (blo'ing-charj), n. In gunnery, 
a smallcharge of powder in a shell, sufficient to 
blow out the fuse-plug but not to burst the shell. 
It is used in tiring for practice, or for testing time-fuses 
when it is desired to recover the shells and use them 
again. If It is desired to fill the cavity of the shell, coal- 
dust is added to the charge to increase its volume. 
blowing-cylinder (blo'ing-sil'in-der), . The 
air-cylinder of a blowing-engine or other form 
of blast-machine. 
blowing-engine (blo'ing-en'jin), n. 1. A mo- 
tor used for driving a blower or blowing-ma- 
ehino. 2. A combined motor and blower. 
blowing-fan (blo 'ing-fan), n. A revolving 
wheel with vanes, used to produce a blast. 
blowing-furnace (blo'ing-fer'nas), H. A fur- 
nace in which partially formed glassware may 
be placed to be softened when it becomes cooled 
and stiff in working; sometimes, the secondary 
furnace following the melting-furnace. 
blowing-house (blo'ing-hous), . A house in 
which the process of smelting tin ore is car- 
ried on. 
blowing-iron, . Same as blowpipe, 1. 
blowing-machine (blo'iiig-ma-snen'), n. Any 
apparatus for creating a blast of air, as for 
blowpipe 
ventilating, urging tiros in boilers or furnaces 
in glass-making, cold storage, removing dust, 
etc. See blower, 5. piston blowing-machine, a 
form of blow ing-mai bin.- in which the air is e\|~ lied 
from a cylindi r by a reciprocating piston. A,'. //. Ii 
blpwing-pipe (t>16'ing-pip), n. A glass-blower's 
pipe; a pout re. 
blowing-pot (blo'ing-pot), n. In tho manufac- 
ture of pottery, an apparatus for distributing 
slip over the ware before burning. 
blowing-snake (blo'ing-snak), n. A non-ven- 
omous snake of the family Cohibrultv and genus 
Ilitirodon, notable for the noise it maKi 
the depression of its anterior parts and the ex- 
pulsion of air. The best-known species is //. 
pliitt/rrliiiiHs of the eastern United States, whi'-h 
is also called buckwheat~nose nake, xprcading- 
adder, et. 
blowing-tube (blo'ing-tub), n. In glcum-work- 
ing, a tube 4 or 5 feet long, with a bore varying 
in size according to the character of the work, 
used in blowing glass. 
blow-milk (blo milk), n. Milk from which the 
cream is blown off ; skimmed milk. [Eng.] 
blown 1 (blon), p. a. [< ME. blowen, blawen,<. AS. 
hln a-, a. pp. of oldwan : see blow 1 .'] 1. Swelled; 
inflated. 
No Mount ambition doth our arms incite. 
Sltak., Lear, iv. 4. 
I come with no blown spirit to abuse you. 
Bra. and Ft., Little French Lawyer, Hi. 2. 
2. Spongy or porous from the presence of bub- 
bles of air or gas: said of metal castings. 3. 
Stale from exposure, as to air or flies ; hence, 
tainted; unsavory: as, 6to- drink (obsolete) ; 
blown meat ; a blown reputation. See flyblown. 
4. Out of breath ; tired ; exhausted : as, " their 
horses much blown," Scott. 
'Zounds! I am quite out of breath Sir, I am come to 
Whew ! I beg pardon but, as you perceive, I am devilish- 
ly Mown. Column the 1 otinyer, Poor Gentleman, iii. 3. 
5. In farriery, having the stomach distended 
by gorging green food: said of cattle. 6. 
Emptied by blowing, as an egg. 
blown 1 ' (blon), p. a. [< ME. blowen, < AS. 
"blowen, gcblvwen, pp. of blowan: see Mow'*.] 
Fully expanded or opened, as a flower: as, 
"the blown rose." Shak., A. and C., iii. 11. 
blow-pff (blo'of), a. Pertaining to or used in 
blowing off (which see, under blow 1 , v., I.). 
The blow-of apparatus consists, in fresh-water boilers, 
simply of a large cock at the l>otton> of the lioilcr. 
KatMiie, Steam Engine, $ .105. 
Blow-off cock, a faucet in the blow-off pipe of a steam- 
boiler. Blow-off pipe, a pipe at the foot of the boiler 
of a steam-engine, communicating with the ash-pit (or 
with the sea in marine boilers), and furnished with a cock, 
the opening of which causes the water and the sediment 
or brine to be forced out by the steam. 
blow-out (blo'out), n. A feast ; an entertain- 
ment; a great demonstration; aspree. [Colloq.] 
The Russian [sailors] . . . had celebrated their Christ- 
mas eleven days before, when they had a grand blotc-uut. 
R. H. Dana, Jr., Before the Mast, p. 28B. 
blow-over (blo'o'ver), n. In glass-making, the 
surplus glass, which, when a vessel is blown in 
a mold, is forced out above the lip of the mold. 
blowpipe (blo'pip), n. and . I. n. 1. An in- 
strument by which a 
driven through 
. . . . . 
current of air or gas is 
the flame of a 
lamp, candle, or 
gas-jet, to di- I ~ Blowpipe.. 
rect the flame * common blowpipe ; . GahnS blowpipe. 
, made with chamber near the let. 
upon a sub- 
stance, in order to fuse it, an intense heat be- 
ing created by the rapid supply of oxygen and 
the concentration of the name upon a small 
area. In its simplest form, as used, for example, by gas- 
fitters, It is merely a conical lulu- of brass, glass, or other 
substance, usually about " inches long, 1 inch in diameter 
at one end, and tapering so as to have a very small aper- 
ture at the other, within > inches or so of which ft is 
bent nearly at a right angle. The blowpipe of the min- 
eralogist is provided with a small chamlicr near the jet. 
In which the moisture from the mouth collects. The 
current of ah* is often formed by a pair of Itellows in- 
stead of the human breath, the instrument l>eing fixed 
in a proper frame for the purpose. The most powerful 
blowpipe is the oxyhydrogen or compound blowpipe, an 
instrument in which oxygen and hydrogen tin the propor- 
tions necessary for their combination), propelled by hydro- 
static or other pressure, and coming from separate reser- 
voirs, are made to form a united current in a capillary 
orifice at the moment when they are kindled. The heat 
produced is such as to consume the diamond and to fuse 
or vaporize many substances refractory at lower tempera- 
ture*. The blowpipe Is used by goldsmiths and jewelers 
in soldering, by glass-blowers in softening and shaping 
glass, and extensively by chemists and mineralogist* in test- 
ing the nature and composition of substances. Also called 
by workmen a Mmnny-inm. 
2. Same as Wow-jrun.-Alrohydrogen blowpipe, a 
modification of the oxyhydrogen blowpipe. 
