Etymology

blee

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Today it means: Color, hue. Full definition →

First used 9th to early 17th c.Middle English blee ← Old English blēo ← Proto-West Germanic *blīu
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blee · noun1

  1. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*blīu“color, blee”
  2. Old English · inherited fromblēo
  3. Middle English · inherited fromblee
  4. English todayblee

From Middle English blee, ble, from Old English blēo, bleoh (“color, hue; complexion, form”), from Proto-West Germanic *blīu (“color, blee”). Cognate with Scots ble, blee, blie (“color, complexion”), Old Frisian blī, blie (“color, hue; complexion”) (whence North Frisian bläy, Saterland Frisian Bläier), Middle Dutch blie, blye (“color”). Doublet of bly.

blee · interjection2

Associated with Smash Hits magazine, where it may have originated.

Blee · proper noun3

From the Cornish and Irish surname, variant of Bligh.

First known use, by meaning

  • from 9th to early 17th c. Color, hue.
  • from 9th to early 17th c. Color of the face, complexion, coloring.
  • from 9th to early 17th c. Consistency, form, texture.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.