Etymologically
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blind

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /blaɪnd/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English blind, inherited from Old English blind (“sightless; dark, obscure; unintelligent”),[2][3] from Proto-Germanic *blindaz,[2][3][4] also the source of Old Frisian and Old Saxon blind, German and Dutch blind, Old Norse blindr and Gothic blinds.[2][3] It is from Proto-Indo-European *bhlendh-,[3][4] seen also in Latvian blendu “I see dimly” and Old Church Slavonic blędǫ “I go blindly”,[3][4] and Etymonline relates it to *bhel- “to shine, flash”, through the notion of making cloudy or deceiving.[2] Some connect it with Old English blandan “to mix”, the source of blend.[3][5] It is related to blunder.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Sightless: about 725 in Barnhart, in an early version of Genesis;[3] the word already had both literal and figurative senses in Old English,[3][6] such as “refusing to see”, especially in religion, and “unintelligent”.[6] Etymonline suggests the original sense was “confused” rather than “sightless”.[2]

Semantic evolution

Not controlled by reason, as in blind rage, was also Old English.[2] Blind alley (1580s) is older than the sense “closed at one end” (1610s).[2] Without an opening for light, as in a blind wall, is from about 1600.[2] The noun, a blind person, is late Old English;[2] a place of concealment for a hunter is from the 1640s,[2] and a covering for a window from 1730 in Barnhart, the early 18th century in Word Origins.[3][6] Turn a blind eye is late 17th century.[6] Acting without investigating first is by 1840, and flying without instruments from 1919.[2] The verb, to make blind, replaced Old English blendan.[4][3] Blinder is from 1809, American English.[3] Blind someone with science is from 1937, from Australia and New Zealand.[2]

Timeline

  • c. 725 – sightless; also figurative.[3]
  • a. 1225 – verb, blinden.[3]
  • 1580s – blind alley.[2]
  • c. 1600 – without an opening.[2]
  • 1640s – a hunter's hiding place.[2]
  • 1730 – a window covering.[3]
  • 1840 – acting without investigation.[2]
  • 1919 – of flying without instruments.[2]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Unable to see.
  2. Unwilling or unable to notice or understand: blind to the risks.
  3. Not based on reason or judgement: blind faith.
  4. Hidden from sight: a blind corner.
  5. Done without seeing or without information: a blind test.
  6. Closed at one end; without openings: a blind alley.

Verb

  1. To make blind, permanently or for a short time.
  2. To stop someone from understanding or judging clearly.

Noun

  1. A covering for a window, such as a roller blind or Venetian blind.
  2. A shelter from which hunters can watch without being seen.
  3. Something that hides the real nature of an activity.

Adverb

  1. Without being able to see, or completely, as in blind drunk.

Word family

  • blindingly
  • blindly
  • blindness
  • miniblind
  • blinder
  • blinding
  • Venetian blind
  • blend
  • blunder
  • blindfold

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ a b c d e Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press