Etymology

blunt

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Today it means: Having a thick edge or point; not sharp. Full definition →

Middle English blunt ← Old English *blunt
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blunt · adjective, noun1

  1. Old English · derived from*blunt
  2. Middle English · inherited fromblunt
  3. English todayblunt

From Middle English blunt, blont, from Old English *blunt, probably of North Germanic origin, possibly related to Old Norse blunda (“to shut eyes, to doze”), related to blind (> Icelandic blunda, Swedish blunda, Danish blunde). Compare the Scandinavian-German munitons term blind (“non-live, dummy”), opposite of skarp (“live”, literally, “sharp”): Swedish and Danish blind patron (“dummy round”), Danish blindt skud, German blinder schuss (“dummy shot”), blinde granate (“dummy grenade”).

blunt · verb2

  1. Middle English · inherited fromblunten
  2. English todayblunt

From Middle English blunten, blonten, from the adjective (see above).

Blunt · proper noun3

  1. Middle English · derived fromblunt“dull, stupid”
  2. Anglo-Norman · derived fromblunt“blond”
  3. English todayBlunt

Two possible origins: * From Anglo-Norman blunt (“blond”), a nickname for someone with fair hair or a light complexion. * From Middle English blunt (“dull, stupid”), a nickname for a stupid person.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.