bland

bland · adjective¹

1. Proto-Indo-European*melh₂-der.?
2. Latinblandus
3. English todaybland

Borrowed from Latin blandus (“pleasant”).

bland · verb²

1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*blandaną“to mix, blend”
2. Old English · inherited fromblandan“to blend, mix, mingle; trouble, disturb, corrupt”
3. Middle English · inherited fromblanden
4. English todaybland

From Middle English blanden, blonden, from Old English blandan (“to blend, mix, mingle; trouble, disturb, corrupt”), from Proto-Germanic *blandaną (“to mix, blend”). Cognate with Icelandic blanda, Norwegian, Danish blande, Swedish blanda. See also blend.

bland · noun³

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*bʰlendʰ-“to grow turbid, dim, see badly, be blind”
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*blandą“a mixing, mixture”
3. Old English · inherited frombland
4. Middle English · inherited frombland
5. English todaybland

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”).

Words from the same roots