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Bland

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bland¹

  • /blænd/ Canada, US, UK
  • [bleənd] ~ [blɛənd]
  • /bland/ British, Northern England, Scotland, Southern, Standard, Wales
  • /blæːnd/ Australia
  • [bleːnd] ~ [blɛːnd]
  • /blɛnd/ New Zealand

Rhymes with -ænd

Where it comes from

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *mel-

Proto-Indo-European *meld-

Proto-Indo-European *mland-der.

Latin blandusbor.

English bland

Borrowed from Latin blandus (“pleasant”).

adjective blander · blandest

  1. Having a soothing effect; not irritating or stimulating. a bland oil
  2. Lacking in taste or flavor. The coffee was bland.
  3. Lacking in vigor. First and foremost, alternative country artists generally claim to reject mainstream country music as musically indistinguishable from bland pop music, as lyrically superficial, and as having no artistic merit […]
  4. figuratively Lacking interest; boring; dull. bland comment
  5. archaic Mild; soft, gentle, balmy; smooth in manner; suave. Where didst thou find, young Bard, thy sounding lyre? / Where the bland accent, and the tender tone?

bland²

  • /blænd/ Canada, US, UK
  • [bleənd] ~ [blɛənd]
  • /bland/ British, Northern England, Scotland, Southern, Standard, Wales
  • /blæːnd/ Australia
  • [bleːnd] ~ [blɛːnd]
  • /blɛnd/ New Zealand

Rhymes with -ænd

Where it comes from

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.

verb blands · blanding · blanded

  1. UK, dialectal, transitive To mix; blend; mingle.
  2. UK, dialectal, transitive To connect; associate.

bland³

  • /blænd/ Canada, US, UK
  • [bleənd] ~ [blɛənd]
  • /bland/ British, Northern England, Scotland, Southern, Standard, Wales
  • /blæːnd/ Australia
  • [bleːnd] ~ [blɛːnd]
  • /blɛnd/ New Zealand

Rhymes with -ænd

Where it comes from

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”).

noun blands · blaind · blaund

  1. UK, countable, dialectal, uncountable Mixture; union.
  2. countable, uncountable A summer beverage prepared from the whey of churned milk, common among the inhabitants of the Shetland Islands.

Bland⁴

Rhymes with -ænd

proper noun

  1. A surname.
  2. A small city in Gasconade County and Osage County, Missouri, United States.
  3. A census-designated place, the county seat of Bland County, Virginia, United States.
  4. A local government area (Bland Shire) in the Riverina region, New South Wales, Australia.
  5. A locality in the Bland council area, central New South Wales, Australia.

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