Etymologically
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blueprint

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 31 October 2026 at 12:13. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˈbluːpɹɪnt/[1]
  • US: /ˈbluˌpɹɪnt/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English blue + print,[2][3][4][5] from the process that produced prints of white lines on a blue ground, or blue lines on a white one.[6][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A photographic print of white lines on a blue background, used for copying plans and drawings: 1857, in Photographic Notes.[2][4] Etymonline dates it to 1882,[3] and Dictionary.com to 1885–90.[5]

Semantic evolution

The blueprint was the standard way of copying architects' plans and engineering drawings,[4][7] and the word passed from the copy to the plan itself.[2] The figurative sense, a detailed plan or model for something, is recorded from 1910,[2][8] 1926 in Etymonline.[3] The verb, to draw up a blueprint for or plan in detail, is recorded from 1889,[2][8] or from 1884 according to Merriam-Webster,[4] and Etymonline dates it by 1939.[3] In motoring, to blueprint an engine is to rebuild it as close as possible to its exact design specifications.[4]

Timeline

  • 1857 – a photographic print of white lines on a blue ground.[2]
  • 1889 – verb, to make a blueprint for; to plan out.[2]
  • 1910 – figuratively, a plan, model or template.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A photographic print of plans or technical drawings, with white lines on a blue background: the architect's blueprints for the station.[7][4][2]
  2. A detailed plan or programme, or a model that later work follows: The treaty became a blueprint for later trade agreements.[7][4][2]

Verb

  1. To make a blueprint of; to plan something out in detail.[7][4][2]
  2. In motoring, to rebuild an engine exactly to its design specifications.[4]

Word family

  • blueprinter
  • cyanotype

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  6. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  8. ^ a b Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)