blunt

Pronunciation

• IPA: /blʌnt/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English blunt, of uncertain origin.^[2][3][4][5] It may be Scandinavian, related to Old Norse blunda (“to shut the eyes, doze”) (see blind),^[2][5][6] or to Old English blinnan (“to stop, cease”).^[3] Barnhart doubts a link with blunder, since that sense is not found until 1440.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Dull, obtuse, of persons: probably about 1200, in The Ormulum.^[2][3][7]

Semantic evolution

Of tools or weapons, not sharp, it is from 1398, and the surname Blundspure, Bluntspur, is from about 1285.^[7][2] Rude or unrefined is from 1477, and abrupt of speech or manner from 1590.^[7][3] The verb, to dull the edge, is from the late 14th century.^[3][5] As a noun, a blunt sword is from the 1610s and a short thick needle from 1833;^[3] as street slang a blunt is a cigar refilled with marijuana, by about 1993, from the Phillies Blunt brand.^[3][8] In East Anglia, Wiltshire and Somerset dialect a blunt was a storm of snow or rain.^[9]

Timeline

• c. 1200 – dull, obtuse.^[2][7]
• c. 1285 – Bluntspur (surname).^[2]
• 1398 – not sharp.^[7]
• 1590 – abrupt in speech.^[7]
• 1610s – a blunt sword (noun).^[3]
• c. 1993 – a blunt (slang).^[3]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Having a dull edge or point; not sharp: a blunt instrument.
2. Frank and direct, often disconcertingly; outspoken.
3. Slow to understand; dull.
4. Lacking feeling; insensitive.

Verb

1. To make or become less sharp.
2. To make less effective; to weaken.

Noun

1. (slang) A cigar hollowed out and filled with cannabis.

Word family

• bluntly
• bluntness

Related words

• blunder
• blind
• blunderbuss

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 Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
9. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)