blade English · revision 6940

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=before 1000|origins=gem-pro *bladą}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /bleɪd/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English blad, [[inh|ang|blæd|t=leaf; a leaf-like part]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) from [[gem-pro|*bladą]],^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) source also of Old Frisian bled, Dutch [[m|nl|blad]], German [[m|de|Blatt|t=leaf]] and Old Norse [[m|non|blað]],^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998) from PIE *bʰle-to-, a past participle of [[ine-pro|*bʰel-|t=to thrive, bloom]],^(Etymonline) related to [[blow]], to blossom.^(MWU 2024)^(Hoad 1986) The modern form comes from the Old English oblique cases.^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The leaf of a plant: before 1000 in the OED, about 725 in Barnhart.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Old English it also meant the flat part of an oar or spade.^(Cresswell 2021)^(Etymonline) In Middle English it was extended to the shoulder blade (about 1300) and to the cutting part of knives and swords (early 14th century),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) and soon after came to mean a sword itself.^(Cresswell 2021) The leaves of grass are from about 1450, perhaps by influence of Old French bled, corn.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) A gallant or dashing young man is from the 1590s.^(Etymonline) The blade of a propeller is early 20th-century.^(Cresswell 2021) In Wiltshire and Somerset dialect a blade was the shaft of a cart.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1000 – a leaf.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1300 – shoulder blade.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * early 14th century – the cutting part of a knife.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1450 – a blade of grass.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1590s – a dashing young man.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The flat cutting edge of a [[knife]], [[sword]] or tool.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The flat, wide part of an oar, propeller or fan.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A long, narrow leaf of grass or a similar plant.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(literary)'' A sword.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(archaic)'' A dashing or jaunty young man.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The runner of an ice skate.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[bladed]]

+ * [[bladelike]]

+ * [[blader]]

+ * [[bladeless]]

+ * [[bladebone]]

+ * [[multiblade]]

+ * [[bladelet]]

+ * [[microblade]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[blow]]

+ * [[bloom]]

+ * [[blossom]]

+ * [[folio]]

+ * [[foliage]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}