blank English · revision 7395

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1230|origins=frk *blank}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /blænk/ ''(UK)''; /blæŋk/, /bleɪŋk/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English blank, [[bor|fro|blanc|t=white, shining]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) from Frankish *blank, white, gleaming, or another Germanic source (compare Old Norse blakkr and Old English blanca, a white horse),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from Proto-Germanic *blankaz, from PIE [[ine-pro|*bʰel-|t=to shine, flash, burn]].^(Etymonline) Spanish blanco and Italian bianco are also from Germanic.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ White, pale, colourless: 1230 in the surname Blanc-heved (white-head) in Barnhart, the early 13th century in Etymonline.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Having empty spaces is from about 1400,^(Etymonline) and of paper, not written on, from 1547.^(OED 1989) Void of expression, as ''a blank look'', is from the 1550s.^(Etymonline) The noun was the name of a small French coin in the late 14th century;^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) the white centre of a target is from the 1550s, an empty space in a document from about 1570, and a losing lottery ticket from the 1560s, behind ''draw a blank'' (by 1822).^(Etymonline) Since at least 1854 blank has replaced a curse word for decorum's sake, as in ''blankety-blank''.^(Etymonline) The verb, to disconcert, is from the 1540s,^(Etymonline) and in sport, to keep an opponent from scoring, from 1870.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1230 – white (in a surname).^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1400 – having empty spaces.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1547 – of paper, unwritten.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1550s – expressionless.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1560s – a losing lottery ticket.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1822 – draw a blank.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Of a surface, bare and empty; not written or printed on.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Showing no expression, understanding or interest.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Complete; absolute: ''a blank refusal''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # An empty space, as on a form, for writing in.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A cartridge containing gunpowder but no bullet.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A state of mental emptiness: ''my mind was a blank''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To cover up or obscure; to [[erase]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(informal)'' To ignore someone deliberately.^(SOED 2002)^(Dalzell 2013)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[blankly]]

+ * [[blankness]]

+ * [[point-blank]]

+ * [[blankety-blank]]

+ * [[blankbook]]

+ * [[blank check]]

+ * [[blank verse]]

+ * [[blank slate]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[blanket]]

+ * [[blanch]]

+ * [[blancmange]]

+ * [[bleach]]

+ * [[black]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}