Chapter 56

genus of herbs (Blitum) with a fleshy calyx. Blitum capitatum is the strawberry blite. Blithe (?), a. [AS. blÆ?e blithe, kind; akin to Goth. blei?s kind, Icel. blÆ?r mild, gentle, Dan. & Sw. blid gentle, D. blijd blithe, OHG. blÆdi kind, blithe.] Gay; merry; sprightly; joyous; glad; cheerful; as, a blithe spirit. The blithe sounds of festal music. Prescott. A daughter fair, So buxom, blithe, and debonair. Milton. Blithe¶ful (?), a. Gay; full of gayety; joyous. Blithe¶ly, adv. In a blithe manner. Blithe¶ness, n. The state of being blithe. Chaucer. Blithe¶some (?), a. Cheery; gay; merry. The blithesome sounds of wassail gay. Sir W. Scott. Ð Blithe¶someÏly, adv. Ð Blithe¶someÏness, n. Blive (?), adv. [A contraction of Belive.] Quickly; forthwith. [Obs.] Chaucer. Bliz¶zard (?), n. [Cf. Blaze to flash. Formerly, in local use, a rattling volley; cf. ½to blaze away¸ to fire away.] A gale of piercingly cold wind, usually accompanied with fine and blinding snow; a furious blast. [U. S.] Bloat (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Bloated; p. pr. & vb. n. Bloating.] [Cf. Icel. blotna to become soft, blautr soft, wet, Sw. bl”t soft, bl”ta to soak; akin to G. bloss bare, and AS. ble t wretched; or perh. fr. root of Eng. 5th blow. Cf. Blote.] 1. To make turgid, as with water or air; to cause a swelling of the surface of, from effusion of serum in the cellular tissue, producing a morbid enlargement, often accompanied with softness. 2. To inflate; to puff up; to make vain. Dryden. Bloat, v. i. To grow turgid as by effusion of liquid in the cellular tissue; to puff out; to swell. Arbuthnot. Bloat, a. Bloated. [R.] Shak. Bloat, n. A term of contempt for a worthless, dissipated fellow. [Slang] Bloat, v. t. To dry (herrings) in smoke. See Blote. Bloat¶ed (?), p. a. Distended beyond the natural or usual size, as by the presence of water, serum, etc.; turgid; swollen; as, a bloated face. Also, puffed up with pride; pompous. Bloat¶edÏness, n. The state of being bloated. Bloat¶er (?), n. [See Bloat, Blote.] The common herring, esp. when of large size, smoked, and half dried; Ð called also bloat herring. Blob (?), n. [See Bleb.] 1. Something blunt and round; a small drop or lump of something viscid or thick; a drop; a bubble; a blister. Wright. 2. (Zo”l.) A small freshÏwater fish (Uranidea Richardsoni); the miller's thumb. Blob¶ber (?), n. [See Blubber, Blub.] A bubble; blubber. [Low] T. Carew. Blobber lip, a thick, protruding lip. His blobber lips and beetle brows commend. Dryden. Blob¶berÐlipped· (?), a. Having thick lips. ½A blobberÐlipped shell.¸ Grew. ØBloÏcage¶ (?), n. [F.] (Arch.) The roughest and cheapest sort of rubblework, in masonry. Block (?), n. [OE. blok; cf. F. bloc (fr. OHG.), D. & Dan. blok, Sw. & G. block, OHG. bloch. There is also an OHG. bloch, biloh; bi by + the same root as that of E. lock. Cf. Block, v. t., Blockade, and see Lock.] 1. A piece of wood more or less bulky; a solid mass of wood, stone, etc., usually with one or more plane, or approximately plane, faces; as, a block on which a butcher chops his meat; a block by which to mount a horse; children's playing blocks, etc. Now all our neighbors' chimneys smoke, And Christmas blocks are burning. Wither. All her labor was but as a block Left in the quarry. Tennyson. 2. The solid piece of wood on which condemned persons lay their necks when they are beheaded. Noble heads which have been brought to the block. E. Everett. 3. The wooden mold on which hats, bonnets, etc., are shaped. Hence: The pattern on shape of a hat. He wears his faith but as the fashion of his hat; it ever changes with the next block. Shak. 4. A large or long building divided into separate houses or shops, or a number of houses or shops built in contact with each other so as to form one building; a row of houses or shops. 5. A square, or portion of a city inclosed by streets, whether occupied by buildings or not. The new city was laid out in rectangular blocks, each block containing thirty building lots. Such an average block, comprising 282 houses and covering nine acres of ground, exists in Oxford Street. Lond. Quart. Rev. 6. A grooved pulley or sheave incased in a frame or shell which is provided with a hook, eye, or strap, by which it may be attached to an object. It is used to change the direction of motion, as in raising a heavy object that can not be conveniently reached, and also, when two or more such sheaves are compounded, to change the rate of motion, or to exert increased force; Ð used especially in the rigging of ships, and in tackles. 7. (Falconry) The perch on which a bird of prey is kept. 8. Any obstruction, or cause of obstruction; a stop; a hindrance; an obstacle; as, a block in the way. 9. A piece of box or other wood for engravers' work. 10. (Print.) A piece of hard wood (as mahogany or cherry) on which a stereotype or electrotype plate is mounted to make it type high. 11. A blockhead; a stupid fellow; a dolt. [Obs.] What a block art thou ! Shak. 12. A section of a railroad where the block system is used. See Block system, below. A block of shares (Stock Exchange), a large number of shares in a stock company, sold in a lump. Bartlett. Ð Block printing. (a) A mode of printing (common in China and Japan) from engraved boards by means of a sheet of paper laid on the linked surface and rubbed with a brush. S. W. Williams. (b) A method of printing cotton cloth and paper hangings with colors, by pressing them upon an engraved surface coated with coloring matter. Ð Block system on railways, a system by which the track is divided into sections of three or four miles, and trains are so run by the guidance of electric signals that no train enters a section or block before the preceding train has left it. Block (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Blocked (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Blocking.] [Cf. F. bloquer, fr. bloc block. See Block, n.] 1. To obstruct so as to prevent passage or progress; to prevent passage from, through, or into, by obstructing the way; Ð used both of persons and things; Ð often followed by up; as, to block up a road or harbor. With moles ... would block the port. Rowe. A city ... besieged and blocked about. Milton. 2. To secure or support by means of blocks; to secure, as two boards at their angles of intersection, by pieces of wood glued to each. 3. To shape on, or stamp with, a block; as, to block a hat. To block out, to begin to reduce to shape; to mark out roughly; to lay out; as, to block out a plan. BlockÏade¶ (?), n. [Cf. It. bloccata. See Block, v. t. ] 1. The shutting up of a place by troops or ships, with the purpose of preventing ingress or egress, or the reception of supplies; as, the blockade of the ports of an enemy. µ Blockade is now usually applied to an investment with ships or vessels, while siege is used of an investment by land forces. To constitute a blockade, the investing power must be able to apply its force to every point of practicable access, so as to render it dangerous to attempt to enter; and there is no blockade of that port where its force can not be brought to bear. Kent. 2. An obstruction to passage. To raise a blockade. See under Raise. BlockÏade¶, v. t. [imp. & p.p. Blockaded; p. pr. & vb. n. Blockading.] 1. To shut up, as a town or fortress, by investing it with troops or vessels or war for the purpose of preventing ingress or egress, or the introduction of supplies. See note under Blockade, n. ½Blockaded the place by sea.¸ Gilpin. 2. Hence, to shut in so as to prevent egress. Till storm and driving ice blockade him there. Wordsworth. 3. To obstruct entrance to or egress from. Huge bales of British cloth blockade the door. Pope. BlockÏad¶er (?), n. 1. One who blockades. 2. (Naut.) A vessel employed in blockading. Block¶age (?), n. The act of blocking up; the state of being blocked up. Block¶ book· (?). A book printed from engraved wooden blocks instead of movable types. Block¶head· (?), n. [Block + head.] A stupid fellow; a dolt; a person deficient in understanding. The bookful blockhead, ignorantly read, With loads of learned lumber in his head. Pope. Block¶head·ed, a. Stupid; dull. Block¶headÏism (?), n. That which characterizes a blockhead; stupidity. Carlyle. Block¶house· (?), n. [Block + house: cf. G. blockhaus.] 1. (Mil.) An edifice or structure of heavy timbers or logs for military defense, having its sides loopholed for musketry, and often an upper story projecting over the lower, or so placed upon it as to have its sides make an angle wit the sides of the lower story, thus enabling the defenders to fire downward, and in all directions; Ð formerly much used in America and Germany. 2. A house of squared logs. [West. & South. U. S.] Block¶ing, n. 1. The act of obstructing, supporting, shaping, or stamping with a block or blocks. 2. Blocks used to support (a building, etc.) temporarily. Block¶ing course· (?). (Arch.) The finishing course of a wall showing above a cornice. Block¶ish, a. Like a block; deficient in understanding; stupid; dull. ½Blockish Ajax.¸ Shak. Ð Block¶ishÏly, adv. Ð Block¶ishÏness, n. Block¶like· (?), a. Like a block; stupid. Block¶ tin· (?). See under Tin. Bloe¶dite (?), n. [From the chemist Bl”de.] (Min.) A hydrous sulphate of magnesium and sodium. Blom¶aÏry (?), n. See Bloomery. Blonc¶ket, Blon¶ket (?), a. [OF. blanquet whitish, dim. of blanc white. Cf. Blanket.] Gray; bluish gray. [Obs.] Our bloncket liveries been all too sad. Spenser. Blond, Blonde (?), a. [F., fair, light, of uncertain origin; cf. AS. blondenÏfeax grayÏhaired, old, prop. blendedÏhaired, as a mixture of white and brown or black. See Blend, v. t.] Of a fair color; lightÏcolored; as, blond hair; a blond complexion. Blonde (?), n. [F.] 1. A person of very fair complexion, with light hair and light blue eyes. [Written also blond.] 2. [So called from its color.] A kind of silk lace originally of the color of raw silk, now sometimes dyed; Ð called also blond lace. Blond¶ met·al (?). A variety of clay ironstone, in Staffordshire, England, used for making tools. Blond¶ness, n. The state of being blond. G. Eliot. Blood (?), n. [OE. blod, blood, AS. bl?d; akin to D. bloed, OHG. bluot, G. blut, Goth, bl??, Sw. & Dan. blod; prob. fr. the same root as E. blow to bloom. See Blow to bloom.] 1. The fluid which circulates in the principal vascular system of animals, carrying nourishment to all parts of the body, and bringing away waste products to be excreted. See under Arterial. µ The blood consists of a liquid, the plasma, containing minute particles, the blood corpuscles. In the invertebrate animals it is usually nearly colorless, and contains only one kind of corpuscles; but in all vertebrates, except Amphioxus, it contains some colorless corpuscles, with many more which are red and give the blood its uniformly red color. See Corpuscle, Plasma. 2. Relationship by descent from a common ancestor; consanguinity; kinship. To share the blood of Saxon royalty. Sir W. Scott. A friend of our own blood. Waller. Half blood (Law), relationship through only one parent. Ð Whole blood, relationship through both father and mother. In American Law, blood includes both half blood, and whole blood. Bouvier. Peters. 3. Descent; lineage; especially, honorable birth; the highest royal lineage. Give us a prince of blood, a son of Priam. Shak. I am a gentleman of blood and breeding. Shak. 4. (Stock Breeding) Descent from parents of recognized breed; excellence or purity of breed. µ In stock breeding half blood is descent showing one half only of pure breed. Blue blood, full blood, or warm blood, is the same as blood. 5. The fleshy nature of man. Nor gives it satisfaction to our blood. Shak. 6. The shedding of blood; the taking of life, murder; manslaughter; destruction. So wills the fierce, avenging sprite, Till blood for blood atones. Hood. 7. A bloodthirsty or murderous disposition. [R.] He was a thing of blood, whose every motion Was timed with dying cries. Shak. 8. Temper of mind; disposition; state of the passions; Ð as if the blood were the seat of emotions. When you perceive his blood inclined to mirth. Shak. µ Often, in this sense, accompanied with bad, cold, warm, or other qualifying word. Thus, to commit an act in cold blood, is to do it deliberately, and without sudden passion; to do it in bad blood, is to do it in anger. Warm blood denotes a temper inflamed or irritated. To warm or heat the blood is to excite the passions. Qualified by up, excited feeling or passion is signified; as, my blood was up. 9. A man of fire or spirit; a fiery spark; a gay, showy man; a rake. Seest thou not ... how giddily 'a turns about all the hot bloods between fourteen and five and thirty? Shak. It was the morning costume of a dandy or blood. Thackeray. 10. The juice of anything, especially if red. He washed ... his clothes in the blood of grapes. Gen. xiix. 11. µ Blood is often used as an adjective, and as the first part of selfÏexplaining compound words; as, bloodÏbespotted, bloodÏbought, bloodÏcurdling, bloodÏdyed, bloodÏred, bloodÏspilling, bloodÏstained, bloodÏwarm, bloodÏwon. Blood baptism (Eccl. Hist.), the martyrdom of those who had not been baptized. They were considered as baptized in blood, and this was regarded as a full substitute for literal baptism. Ð Blood blister, a blister or bleb containing blood or bloody serum, usually caused by an injury. Ð Blood brother, brother by blood or birth. Ð Blood clam (Zo”l.), a bivalve mollusk of the genus Arca and allied genera, esp. Argina pexata of the American coast. So named from the color of its flesh. Ð Blood corpuscle. See Corpuscle. Ð Blood crystal (Physiol.), one of the crystals formed by the separation in a crystalline form of the h‘moglobin of the red blood corpuscles; h‘matocrystallin. All blood does not yield blood crystals. Ð Blood heat, heat equal to the temperature of human blood, or about 98« ? F hr. Ð Blood horse, a horse whose blood or lineage is derived from the purest and most highly prized origin or stock. Ð Blood money. See in the Vocabulary. Ð Blood orange, an orange with dark red pulp. Ð Blood poisoning (Med.), a morbid state of the blood caused by the introduction of poisonous or infective matters from without, or the absorption or retention of such as are produced in the body itself; tox‘mia. Ð Blood pudding, a pudding made of blood and other materials. Ð Blood relation, one connected by blood or descent. Ð Blood spavin. See under Spavin. Ð Blood vessel. See in the Vocabulary. Ð Blue blood, the blood of noble or aristocratic families, which, according to a Spanish prover , has in it a tinge of blue; Ð hence, a member of an old and aristocratic family. Ð Flesh and blood. (a) A blood relation, esp. a child. (b) Human nature. Ð In blood (Hunting), in a state of perfect health and vigor. Shak. Ð To let blood. See under Let. Ð Prince of the blood, the son of a sovereign, or the issue of a royal family. The sons, brothers, and uncles of the sovereign are styled princes of the blood royal; and the daughters, sisters, and aunts are princesses of the blood royal. Blood (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Blooded; p. pr. & vb. n. Blooding.] 1. To bleed. [Obs.] Cowper.

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