bludgeon English · revision 1614

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈblʌd͡ʒ.ən/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is of unknown origin.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) The Century Dictionary, quoted by Etymonline, suggested Dutch ''blusden'' “to bruise, beat”, perhaps brought in as a thieves' cant word,^(Etymonline) and the American Heritage Dictionary mentions a suggestion that it is a cant word related to [[blood]].^(AHD)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A short, stout club, thicker or loaded at one end, used as a weapon (1730).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The noun first appears in a dictionary in 1730, and the first use in running text dates from 1755.^(AHD) The verb came much later: Etymonline dates it to 1802, while Barnhart, Merriam-Webster and the OED give 1868.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989) The figurative sense of bullying or overpowering someone is from 1888.^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1730 – a short heavy club.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1797 – ''bludgeon-man''.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1802 – verb, according to Etymonline.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1868 – verb, to strike with a bludgeon.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1888 – to bully or coerce.^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A short, heavy [[club]] with one thick or weighted end.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Something used to attack or [[bully]].^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To strike with a heavy club or object.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To force or [[coerce]] someone, as if with a club.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[bludgeoner]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[clobber]]

+ * [[beat]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}