bland

See also: Bland and blând

English

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /blænd/
  • Rhymes: -ænd
  • Audio (CA)(file)

Etymology 1

From Middle English blanden, blonden, from Old English blandan (“to blend, mix, mingle; trouble, disturb, corrupt”), from Proto-Germanic *blandaną (“to mix, blend”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰlendʰ- (“to grow turbid, dim, see badly, be blind”). Cognate with Danish and Norwegian blande, Swedish blanda (“to mix, mingle, shuffle, blend”), Icelandic blanda (“to mix”). See also blend.

Verb

bland (third-person singular simple present blands, present participle blanding, simple past and past participle blanded)

  1. (transitive, Britain dialectal) To mix; blend; mingle.
  2. (transitive, Britain dialectal) To connect; associate.

Etymology 2

From Middle English bland, from Old English bland, blond (“blending, mixture, confusion”), from Proto-Germanic *blandą (“a mixing, mixture”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰlendʰ- (“to grow turbid, dim, see badly, be blind”). Cognate with Icelandic blanda (“a mixture of liquids, especially of hot whey and water”).

Alternative forms

  • blaind, blaund (Scotland)

Noun

bland (plural blands)

  1. (Britain dialectal) Mixture; union.
  2. A summer beverage prepared from the whey of churned milk, common among the inhabitants of the Shetland Islands.
Derived terms
  • in bland

Etymology 3

Borrowed from Latin blandus (“pleasant, flattering”).

Adjective

bland (comparative blander, superlative blandest)

  1. (now rare) Mild; soft, gentle, balmy; smooth in manner; suave.
    • 1818, John Keats, Sonnet:
      Where didst thou find, young Bard, thy sounding lyre? / Where the bland accent, and the tender tone?
    • 1907, Robert William Chambers, chapter IX, in The Younger Set (Project Gutenberg; EBook #14852), New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, published 1 February 2005 (Project Gutenberg version), OCLC 24962326:
      “A tight little craft,” was Austin’s invariable comment on the matron; […]. ¶ Near her wandered her husband, orientally bland, invariably affable, and from time to time squinting sideways, as usual, in the ever-renewed expectation that he might catch a glimpse of his stiff, retroussé moustache.
  2. Having a soothing effect; not irritating or stimulating.
    a bland oil;  a bland diet
  3. Lacking in taste, flavor, or vigor.
    The coffee was bland.  The judge found the defense's case to be bland.
  4. lacking interest; boring; dull
Derived terms
Translations

References

  • bland in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913

Danish

Verb

bland

  1. imperative of blande

Icelandic

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /plant/
  • Rhymes: -ant

Noun

bland n (genitive singular blands, no plural)

  1. mix

Declension

Derived terms

Norwegian Bokmål

Verb

bland

  1. imperative of blande

Norwegian Nynorsk

Verb

bland

  1. imperative of blande

Swedish

Pronunciation

  • audio(file)

Preposition

bland

  1. among
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