blandish

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*(s)mel-“erroneous, false; bad, evil”
2. Latin · derived fromblandīrī“to fawn, flatter; to delude”
3. Middle English · derived from-ishen
4. Middle French · derived fromblandir
5. Anglo-Norman · derived fromblaundishen
6. Middle English · inherited fromblaundishen“to flatter; to fawn; to be enticing or persuasive; to be favourable; of the sea: to become calm”
7. English todayblandish

From Middle English blaundishen (“to flatter; to fawn; to be enticing or persuasive; to be favourable; of the sea: to become calm”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman blaundishen, from blandiss-, the extended stem of Middle French blandir + Middle English -ishen (suffix forming verbs). Blandir is derived from Latin blandīrī (“to fawn, flatter; to delude”), from blandus (“fawning, flattering, smooth, suave; persuasive; alluring, enticing, seductive; agreeable, pleasant”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)mel- (“erroneous, false; bad, evil”)) + -iō (suffix forming causative verbs from adjectives). The English word is analysable as bland + -ish; compare bland (“agreeable, pleasant, suave; mild, soothing”).

Words from the same roots