blain

Etymology

From Middle English blein, from Old English bleġen, bleġene, from Proto-Germanic *blajinǭ, *blajjinǭ, perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- (“to swell up”). Cognate with West Frisian blein (“blain”), Dutch blein, blegn (“blain”), Middle Low German bleine (“blain”). Related also to dialectal Norwegian bleime (“blister”), Old Swedish blēma (“blister”), French bleime (“an inflammation of a horse's hoof”).