"B" Word Origins

bloodshed

Origin

From the phrase "blood shed," using "shed" as the past participle of "shed" (to spill).

bloodshot

Origin

From "blood" plus "shot," meaning suffused or streaked with blood.

bloodsoaked

Origin

From blood + soaked.

bloodstain

Origin

From blood + stain.

bloodstream

Origin

From blood + stream.

bloodsucker

Origin

From blood + sucker. The “changeable lizard” sense is perhaps because of the reddish color of its neck.

bloodthirsty

Origin

From "blood" plus "thirsty," picturing a craving for blood.

bloody

Old English

From Old English blodig, formed from "blood" plus the adjective suffix "-y."

bloom

Old Norse

From Old Norse blóm ("flower"), related to Proto-Germanic roots meaning bloom or blossom.

Bloomberg

German

An anglicized variant of the German surname Blumenberg.

bloomer

Middle English

From Middle English blomer, from blome (“iron ingot”) (modern English bloom), from Old English blōma.

bloomerism

Origin

From Bloomer + -ism, after women's-rights advocate Amelia Jenks Bloomer (1818–1894).

bloomers

Origin · 1800

Named after 19th-century American women's-rights activist Amelia Bloomer, who popularised the garment.

blooming

Origin

By surface analysis, bloom + -ing.

Bloomingdale

Origin

From "blooming" (flowering) plus "dale" (valley).

bloop

Origin

An imitative word, formed to sound like the noise it describes.

blooper

Origin

From bloop + -er, of US origin.

blore

Old English

From Middle English bloren, a variant of bleren/blaren, related to Old English words meaning "to bellow" — the same root that gives us "blare."

blossom

Latin

From Old English blostm, related to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to bloom or thrive," also the source of the Latin word for "flower."

blot

Old French

From Middle English blot, meaning a stain or blemish, possibly from Old Norse or Old French roots.

blotch

Origin

Uncertain. Perhaps a blend of blot + botch.

blotto

Origin

From blot + -o. The verb sense “to be annihilated or destroyed” may be related to blot out.

blouse

French · 1800

Borrowed in the 19th century from French blouse, originally describing a workman's or peasant's loose smock.

bloviator

Origin

From bloviate + -or. First attested in 1850 (see quotation).

blow

Latin

From Old English blawan ("to blow, breathe, sound"), from a Proto-Germanic root meaning to swell or blow up — related to Latin flo, "to blow."

blowback

Origin

Formed from "blow" and "back," originally a mechanical term before being adopted for political fallout.

blowball

Origin

From blow + ball.

blower

Middle English

From Middle English blowere, blower, from Old English blāwere; equivalent to blow + -er.

blowfish

Origin

From "blow" plus "fish," describing the fish's ability to inflate itself.

blowhard

Origin

From "blow hard," in the sense of boasting or bragging loudly.

blowhole

Origin

From "blow" + "hole."

blowing

Old English

From Old English blawung, the noun form of "blow."

blowjob

Origin · 1930

American slang, from "blow off" (an earlier term for oral sex among sex workers, recorded from the 1930s) + "job."

blowlamp

Origin

From blow + lamp.

blown

Old English

Past participle of "blow," from Old English blawan.

blowout

Origin

From the phrasal verb "blow out," describing something bursting or erupting suddenly.

blowpipe

Origin

From blow + pipe.

blowsabella

Origin

18th-century Great Britain. From a character in John Gay's 1714 poem The Shepherd's Week.

blowtorch

Origin

From "blow" + "torch," describing a flame intensified by a jet of air or gas.

blub

Origin

Onomatopoeic. Compare bleb and blob.

blubber

Middle English

From Middle English bloberen ("to bubble, seethe"), likely imitating the sound or motion of bubbling liquid.

blud

Origin

From Multicultural London English, ultimately from Caribbean Creole "blood" meaning a close friend or family member (compare "blood brother").

bludge

Origin

Back-formation from bludger.

bludgeon

Old French · 1730

First recorded in 1730; origin uncertain, possibly from Cornish or an old French word for a club.

bludger

Origin

Corruption of bludgeoner.

blue

Latin

From Old French bleu, from a Frankish word related to Proto-Germanic *blēwaz ("blue, dark blue"); a distant cousin of Latin flavus ("yellow") and doublet of the English word "blow."

blue balls

Origin

US English, 1910s, blue + balls (“testicles”).

blue chip

English

From the blue chip, traditionally the highest-value counter in poker.