Page:An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language.djvu/56

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nate. The OTeut. words with initial bl separate into two groups; the one, containing blähen, Blatter, blasen, blühen, Blüte, seems to be based on the primary meaning of ‘swelling,’ the other, comprising blank, blaß, blinken, blecken, blißen, blau, Blech, Blut, on the notion of ‘shining.’

blaß, adj., ‘pale, faint (in colour),’ from MidHG. blas, ‘bald,’ figuratively ‘weak, trifling’; the earlier signification is ‘shining’ (comp. Glaze, from glänzen); allied to OHG. blas, ‘whitish.’ Hence by mutation Blässe, f., ‘a white spot on the forehead,’ OIc. bles (earlier Dan. blis), MidLG. blare (but blasenhengst, ‘horse with a blaze’), Du. blaar, ‘cow with a blaze.’ With the meaning ‘shining,’ AS. blase, E. blaze, MidHG. blas, n., ‘a torch,’ are connected.

Blatt, n., ‘leaf, blade, newspaper,’ from the equiv. MidHG. and OHG. blat n.’; comp. the corresponding Du. blad, AS. blœd, ‘leaf,’ E. blade; Goth. *blaþ. The dental of these cognates seems to be a suffix; bla- from pre-Teut. bhlo-, as well as Lat. fol-ium, Gr., φύλλον, ‘leaf,’ may have been formed from a root bhol, bhlô. It is uncertain whether Goth. *blada- is really a partic. with an Ayran suffix tó-, with the meaning ‘having ceased to bloom’ or ‘fully grown.’ See blühen.

Blatter, f., ‘pock, pustule,’ from MidHG. blâtere, f., ‘bladder, pock,’ OHG. blâttara, f., ‘bladder’; comp. Du. blaar, AS. blœ̂dre, E. bladder. The Goth. form would be *blêdrô (or bladrô? see Natter), with drô- as a suffix, corresponding to Gr. τρα (see Ader, Natter); for blê as a root syllable see blasen, blähen.

blau, adj., from the equiv. MidHG. blâ (Gen. blâwes), OHG. blâo, ‘blue’; comp. Du. blaauw, AS. blâw, and with a suffix blœ̂wen; E. blue (from MidE. blew) is borrowed from Fr. bleu, which, with its Rom. cognates (Ital. biavo, from *blawo), is of Germ. origin. The primit. cognate Lat. flâvus, ‘flaxen, yellow,’ has, like so many names of colours, changed its meaning compared with the Germ. word.

Bläuel, m., ‘beetle, rolling-pin,’ derived from the following word.

bläuen, vb., ‘to beat, drub’; instinctively allied by Germans to blau (blau schlagen, ‘to beat black and blue’). It is based, however, on a str. vb., MidHG. bliuwen, OHG. bliuwan, ‘to beat’; comp. the equiv. AS. *bleówan, whence E. blow; Goth. bliggwan, ‘to beat’ (with an excrescent gg),

for bliwan. The root seems to be blu, from bhlu-; it can hardly be related primitively to blau, nor is it possible to derive *bliwan from a root bhliw for bhligw from bhligh (comp. Schnee, Niere), and to compare it with Lat. flîgere.

Blech, n., ‘thin metal plate, tin plate,’ from the equiv. MidHG. blëch, OHG. blëh, n.; it corresponds to OIc. blik, n., ‘gold, thin plate of gold.’ In Eng. the word is not to be met with; it is formed by gradation from the root blik, which appears in bleichen, and means ‘shining.’ —

Blechen, ‘to pay money,’ comp. berappen.

blecken, vb. ‘to show one's teeth, grin,’ from MidHG. blęcken, ‘to become visible, show,’ OHG. blęcchen (Goth. *blakjan). Factitive of a Goth. *blikan, which, according to the law of the permutation of consonants, is cognate with Gr. φλέγω, ‘to burn, shine’ (comp. φλογ- in φλόξ, ‘flame’), Lat. flagro, ‘to burn,’ and the Sans. root bhrâj), ‘to shine.’ OHG. blęcchen also means ‘to lighten, gleam, shine forth,’ For further details see Blitz.

Blei, n. ‘lead,’ from the equiv. MidHG. blî (Gen. blîwes), OHG. blîo (for *blîw), ‘lead’; it corresponds to OIc. blý; Goth. *bleiwa- is wanting. The word cannot be traced farther back; it is not found in Eng., the term used being lead (Du. loot; comp. Let).

bleiben, vb., ‘to remain, continue,’ from the equiv. MidHG. blîben, OHG. bilîban; comp. the corresponding AS. belîfan, Goth. bileiban, ‘to remain’ (the factitive of which is bilaibjan, ‘to cause to remain, leave over’; AS. lœ̂fan, E. to leave). It is allied neither to Lat. linquo nor to Gr. λείπω, to which leihen is more akin; bilîbo, ‘I remain,’ must be based on pre-Teut. lîpô (Sans. root lip, ‘to adhere’); Gr. λιπαρὸς, ‘greasy, shining,’ λίπος, n., ‘fat,’ λιπαρέω, ‘I persist,’ comes nearest to the meaning of the Teut. vb.; comp. OSlov. lipnąli, Lith. lipti, ‘to adhere, remain.’ With the former meaning, ‘to adhere,’ ModHG. Leber is connected, and with the latter, ‘to persist, abide,’ the ModHG. Leib and Leben. See the separate words.

bleich, adj., ‘pale, wan,’ from the equiv. MidHG. bleich, OHG. bleih; comp. AS. blâc, blœ̂ce, E. bleak, Du. bleek, OIc. bleikr, ‘pale,’ from the root blik appearing in bleichen. Derivatives: ModHG. Bleiche, f., ‘bleaching, bleaching-yard, wan appearance’; bleichen, ‘to bleach, turn pale.’