blemish

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈblɛmɪʃ/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English blemisshen (“to damage, sully”),^[2][3] from Old French blemir (“to make pale”), from its stem blemiss-.^[2][4][5][3] The French verb is of Germanic origin,^[2][3] probably Frankish *blesmjan “to cause to turn pale”,^[5][6][4] and is related to blaze in the sense of a white mark.^[3][6] Merriam-Webster glosses the French literally as “to make pale by wounding”.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

To damage or deface (about 1325).^[7][5][4]

Semantic evolution

The verb first meant to hurt or disfigure, physically or morally.^[7][5] From the mid-15th century it meant to mar the beauty or soundness of something that was otherwise excellent.^[5][7] The noun, formed from the verb in the 1520s, was first a moral stain^[7][4][5] and from 1535 a physical mark or defect.^[7][3]

Timeline

• about 1325 – to hurt or deface.^[7]
• about 1380 – to impair morally.^[7][4]
• about 1460 – to mar the beauty or soundness of.^[7][5]
• 1526 – noun, a moral defect.^[7][4]
• 1535 – noun, a physical defect or disfigurement.^[7][3]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A mark or flaw that spoils the appearance of something, such as a pimple or scar.
2. A moral defect or stain, as on a reputation.

Verb

1. To spoil the perfection or appearance of something.

Word family

• blemisher

Usage notes

The American Heritage Dictionary distinguishes several near-synonyms.^[2] A blemish is something such as a blotch that mars appearance or character, while imperfection and fault apply to any shortcoming.^[2] A defect is a serious functional or structural shortcoming, and a flaw an often small but fundamental weakness.^[2]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
5. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press