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Webster 1913 Edition

Blind

Blind

,
Adj.
[AS.; akin to D., G., OS., Sw., & Dan.
blind
, Icel.
blindr
, Goth.
blinds
; of uncertain origin.]
1.
Destitute of the sense of seeing, either by natural defect or by deprivation; without sight.
He that is strucken
blind
can not forget
The precious treasure of his eyesight lost.
Shakespeare
2.
Not having the faculty of discernment; destitute of intellectual light; unable or unwilling to understand or judge;
as, authors are
blind
to their own defects
.
But hard be hardened,
blind
be blinded more,
That they may stumble on, and deeper fall.
Milton.
3.
Undiscerning; undiscriminating; inconsiderate.
This plan is recommended neither to
blind
approbation nor to
blind
reprobation.
Jay.
4.
Having such a state or condition as a thing would have to a person who is blind; not well marked or easily discernible; hidden; unseen; concealed;
as, a
blind
path; a
blind
ditch
.
5.
Involved; intricate; not easily followed or traced.
The
blind
mazes of this tangled wood.
Milton.
6.
Having no openings for light or passage;
as, a
blind
wall
; open only at one end;
as, a
blind
alley; a
blind
gut
.
7.
Unintelligible, or not easily intelligible;
as, a
blind
passage in a book
; illegible;
as,
blind
writing
.
8.
(Hort.)
Abortive; failing to produce flowers or fruit;
as,
blind
buds;
blind
flowers
.
Blind alley
,
an alley closed at one end; a cul-de-sac.
–
Blind axle
,
an axle which turns but does not communicate motion.
Knight.
–
Blind beetle
,
one of the insects apt to fly against people, esp. at night.
–
Blind cat
(Zool.)
,
a species of catfish (
Gronias nigrolabris
), nearly destitute of eyes, living in caverns in Pennsylvania.
–
Blind coal
,
coal that burns without flame; anthracite coal.
Simmonds.
–
Blind door
,
Blind window
,
an imitation of a door or window, without an opening for passage or light. See
Blank door
or
Blank window
, under
Blank
,
Adj.
–
Blind level
(Mining)
,
a level or drainage gallery which has a vertical shaft at each end, and acts as an inverted siphon.
Knight.
–
Blind nettle
(Bot.)
,
dead nettle. See
Dead nettle
, under
Dead
.
–
Blind shell
(Gunnery)
,
a shell containing no charge, or one that does not explode.
–
Blind side
,
the side which is most easily assailed; a weak or unguarded side; the side on which one is least able or disposed to see danger.
Swift.
–
Blind snake
(Zool.)
,
a small, harmless, burrowing snake, of the family
Typhlopidæ
, with rudimentary eyes.
–
Blind spot
(Anat.)
,
the point in the retina of the eye where the optic nerve enters, and which is insensible to light.
–
Blind tooling
,
in bookbinding and leather work, the indented impression of heated tools, without gilding; – called also
blank tooling
, and
blind blocking
.
–
Blind wall
,
a wall without an opening; a blank wall.

Blind

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Blinded
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Blinding
.]
1.
To make blind; to deprive of sight or discernment.
“To blind the truth and me.”
Tennyson.
A blind guide is certainly a great mischief; but a guide that
blinds
those whom he should lead is . . . a much greater.
South.
2.
To deprive partially of vision; to make vision difficult for and painful to; to dazzle.
Her beauty all the rest did
blind
.
P. Fletcher.
3.
To darken; to obscure to the eye or understanding; to conceal; to deceive.
Such darkness
blinds
the sky.
Dryden.
The state of the controversy between us he endeavored, with all his art, to
blind
and confound.
Stillingfleet.
4.
To cover with a thin coating of sand and fine gravel; as a road newly paved, in order that the joints between the stones may be filled.

Blind

,
Noun.
1.
Something to hinder sight or keep out light; a screen; a cover; esp. a hinged screen or shutter for a window; a blinder for a horse.
2.
Something to mislead the eye or the understanding, or to conceal some covert deed or design; a subterfuge.
3.
[Cf. F.
blindes
, p[GREEK]., fr. G.
blende
, fr.
blenden
to blind, fr.
blind
blind.]
(Mil.)
A blindage. See
Blindage
.
4.
A halting place.
[Obs.]
Dryden.

Webster 1828 Edition

Blind

BLIND

,
Adj.
1.
Destitute of the sense of seeing, either by natural defect, or by deprivation;not having sight.
2.
Not having the faculty of discernment; destitute of intellectual light; unable to understand or judge; ignorant; as authors are blind to their own defects.
Blind should be followed by to; but it is followed by of, in the phrase,blind of an eye.
3.
Unseen;; out of public view; private; dark; sometimes implying contempt or censure; as a blind corner.
4.
Dark; obscure; not easy to be found; not easily discernible; as a blind path.
5.
Heedless; inconsiderate; undeliberating.
This plan is recommended neither to blind approbation or blind reprobation.
6.
In scripture, blind implies not only want of discernment, but moral depravity.

BLIND

,
Verb.
T.
To make blind; to deprive of sight.
1.
To darken; to obscure to the eye.
Such darkness blinds the sky.
2.
To darken the understanding; as, to blind the mind.
3.
To darken or obscure to the understanding.
He endeavored to blind and confound the controversy.
4.
To eclipse.

BLIND

, or BLINDE, See Blend, an ore.

BLIND

,
Noun.
Something to hinder the sight.
Civility casts a blind over the duty.
1.
Something to mislead the eye or the understanding; as, one thing serves as a blind for another.
2.
A screen; a cover; as a blind for a window, or for a horse.

Definition 2024

blind

blind

English

Alternative forms

Adjective

blind ‎(comparative blinder, superlative blindest)

  1. (not comparable, of a person or animal) Unable to see, due to physiological or neurological factors.
    • Shakespeare
      He that is strucken blind cannot forget / The precious treasure of his eyesight lost.
    • 1883, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island,
      He was plainly blind, for he tapped before him with a stick, and wore a great green shade over his eyes and nose...
  2. (not comparable, of an eye) Unable to be used to see, due to physiological or neurological factors.
  3. (comparable) Failing to see, acknowledge, perceive.
    The lovers were blind to each other's faults.
    Authors are blind to their own defects.
  4. (not comparable) Of a place, having little or no visibility.
    a blind path; a blind ditch; a blind corner
    • Milton
      the blind mazes of this tangled wood
  5. (not comparable) Closed at one end; having a dead end
  6. (not comparable) Having no openings for light or passage.
    a blind wall, open only at one end; a blind alley; a blind gut
  7. smallest or slightest in phrases such as
    I shouted, but he didn't take a blind bit of notice.
    We pulled and pulled, but it didn't make a blind bit of difference.
  8. (not comparable) without any prior knowledge.
    He took a blind guess at which fork in the road would take him to the airport.
  9. (not comparable) unconditional; without regard to evidence, logic, reality, accidental mistakes, extenuating circumstances, etc.
    blind deference
    blind punishment
    • Jay
      This plan is recommended neither to blind approbation nor to blind reprobation.
  10. Unintelligible or illegible.
    a blind passage in a book; blind writing
  11. (horticulture) Abortive; failing to produce flowers or fruit.
    blind buds; blind flowers

Derived terms

Translations

See also

Noun

blind ‎(plural blinds)

  1. A covering for a window to keep out light. The covering may be made of cloth or of narrow slats that can block light or allow it to pass.
    • 1956, Delano Ames, chapter 12, in Crime out of Mind:
      Light filtered in through the blinds of the french windows. It made tremulous stripes along the scrubbed pine floor.
  2. A destination sign mounted on a public transport vehicle displaying the route destination, number, name and/or via points, etc.
  3. Any device intended to conceal or hide.
    a duck blind
  4. Something to mislead the eye or the understanding, or to conceal some covert deed or design; a subterfuge.
  5. (military) A blindage.
  6. A halting place.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Dryden to this entry?)
  7. (baseball, slang, 1800s) No score.
  8. (poker) A forced bet: the small blind or the big blind.
    The blinds are $10/$20 and the ante is $1.
  9. (poker) A player who is forced to pay such a bet.
    The blinds immediately folded when I reraised.
  10. (uncountable) Those who are blind, taken as a group.

Synonyms

  • (destination sign): rollsign (mainly US)

Derived terms

Translations

See also

Verb

blind ‎(third-person singular simple present blinds, present participle blinding, simple past and past participle blinded)

  1. (transitive) To make temporarily or permanently blind.
    The light was so bright that for a moment he was blinded.
    Don't wave that pencil in my face - do you want to blind me?
    • South
      A blind guide is certainly a great mischief; but a guide that blinds those whom he should lead is […] a much greater.
  2. (slang, obsolete) To curse.
    • 1890, Rudyard Kipling, The Young British Soldier
      If you're cast for fatigue by a sergeant unkind,
      Don't grouse like a woman, nor crack on, nor blind;
      Be handy and civil, and then you will find
      That it's beer for the young British soldier.
  3. To darken; to obscure to the eye or understanding; to conceal.
    • Dryden
      Such darkness blinds the sky.
    • Stillingfleet
      The state of the controversy between us he endeavored, with all his art, to blind and confound.
  4. To cover with a thin coating of sand and fine gravel, for example a road newly paved, in order that the joints between the stones may be filled.

Derived terms

Translations

Adverb

blind ‎(comparative more blind, superlative most blind)

  1. Without seeing; unseeingly.
  2. (poker, three card brag) Without looking at the cards dealt.

Translations

Danish

Etymology

From Old Norse blindr, from Proto-Germanic *blindaz.

Adjective

blind

  1. blind

Inflection

Inflection of blind
Positive Comparative Superlative
Common singular blind mere blind mest blind2
Neuter singular blindt mere blind mest blind2
Plural blinde mere blind mest blind2
Definite attributive1 blinde mere blind mest blinde
1) When an adjective is applied predicatively to something definite, the corresponding "indefinite" form is used.
2) The "indefinite" superlatives may not be used attributively.

References

Dutch

Pronunciation

  • Rhymes: -ɪnt

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch blint, from Old Dutch *blind, from Proto-Germanic *blindaz.

Adjective

blind ‎(comparative blinder, superlative blindst)

  1. blind (unable to see)
Inflection
Inflection of blind
uninflected blind
inflected blinde
comparative blinder
positive comparative superlative
predicative/adverbial blind blinder het blindst
het blindste
indefinite m./f. sing. blinde blindere blindste
n. sing. blind blinder blindste
plural blinde blindere blindste
definite blinde blindere blindste
partitive blinds blinders —

Etymology 2

From blinden.

Alternative forms

Noun

blind n ‎(plural blinden, diminutive blindje n)

  1. window shutter
Synonyms

German

Etymology

Old High German blint, from Proto-Germanic *blindaz.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /blɪnt/

Adjective

blind ‎(comparative blinder, superlative am blindesten)

  1. blind
  2. (of a mirror or windowpane) cloudy
    • 1918, Elisabeth von Heyking, Die Orgelpfeifen, in: Zwei Erzählungen, Phillipp Reclam jun. Verlag, page 9:
      So dunkel und schauerlich die Gruft aussah, wenn man durch die blinden, bestaubten Scheibchen der kleinen Fenster hineinblickte, so **** und freundlich war oben die Kirche.
      Just as dark and eerie the crypt looked like, if one looked in it through the cloudy, dusted little panes of the small windows, as bright and friendly was the church above.

Derived terms

Declension

Comparative forms of blind
number & gender singular plural
masculine feminine neuter all genders
predicative er ist blinder sie ist blinder es ist blinder sie sind blinder
strong declension
(without article)		 nominative blinderer blindere blinderes blindere
genitive blinderen blinderer blinderen blinderer
dative blinderem blinderer blinderem blinderen
accusative blinderen blindere blinderes blindere
weak declension
(with definite article)		 nominative der blindere die blindere das blindere die blinderen
genitive des blinderen der blinderen des blinderen der blinderen
dative dem blinderen der blinderen dem blinderen den blinderen
accusative den blinderen die blindere das blindere die blinderen
mixed declension
(with indefinite article)		 nominative ein blinderer eine blindere ein blinderes (keine) blinderen
genitive eines blinderen einer blinderen eines blinderen (keiner) blinderen
dative einem blinderen einer blinderen einem blinderen (keinen) blinderen
accusative einen blinderen eine blindere ein blinderes (keine) blinderen

See also

German Low German

Etymology

Cognate to Dutch blind, German blind.

Adjective

blind ‎(comparative blinner, superlative blinnst)

  1. blind

Declension

Comparative forms of blind
gender singular plural
masculine feminine neuter all genders
predicative he is blinner se is blinner dat is blinner se sünd blinner
partitive een blinners een blinners wat blinners allens blinner
strong declension
(without article)		 nominative blinnere blinnere blinner blinnere
oblique blinnern blinnere blinner blinnere
weak declension
(with definite article)		 nominative de blinnere de blinnere dat blinnere de blinnern
oblique den blinnern de blinnere dat blinnere de blinnern
mixed declension
(with indefinite article)		 nominative en blinnere en blinnere en blinner (keen) blinnern
oblique en blinnern en blinnere en blinner (keen) blinnern

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Old Norse blindr, from Proto-Germanic *blindaz.

Adjective

blind m, f ‎(neuter blindt, plural blinde)

  1. blind

Derived terms

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Old Norse blindr, from Proto-Germanic *blindaz.

Adjective

blind m, f ‎(neuter blindt, plural blinde)

  1. blind

Derived terms

Old Saxon

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *blindaz.

Adjective

blind

  1. blind

Declension


Swedish

Etymology

From Old Swedish blinder, from Old Norse blindr, from Proto-Germanic *blindaz.

Pronunciation

Adjective

blind

  1. blind; unable or failing to see

Declension

Inflection of blind
Indefinite/attributive Positive Comparative Superlative2
Common singular blind blindare blindast
Neuter singular blint blindare blindast
Plural blinda blindare blindast
Definite Positive Comparative Superlative
Masculine singular1 blinde blindare blindaste
All blinda blindare blindaste
1) Only used, optionally, to refer to things whose natural gender is masculine.
2) The indefinite superlative forms are only used in an attributive role.

Derived terms

  • blindgång
  • blindgångare
  • blindbock
  • blindstyre
  • färgblind

Etymology

From Old English blind, from Proto-Germanic *blindaz. Akin to German blind, Old High German blint.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /blaɪnd/
  • Rhymes: -aɪnd

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