bludgeon (blujon)

[Not found before 1730 (Bailey); origin unknown. A plausible conjecture connects it with D. bludsen, blutsen, bruise, beat (parallel with butsen with same meaning: see botch2 ). The E. word, if from this source, may have been introduced as a cant term in the Elizabeth an period, along with many other cant terms from the D. which never, or not until much later, emerged in literary use.] A heavy stick, particularly one with one end loaded or thicker and heavier than the other, used as an offensive weapon. Arms were costly, and the greater part of the fyrd came equipped with bludgeons and hedge-stakes, which could do little to meet the spear and battle-axe of the invader. J. R. Green, Conq. of Eng., p. 127. and other phrases often with an added allusion to some other sense of blue ], constant; unwavering; stanch; sterling; unflinching; upright and downright: specifically applied to the Scotch Presbyterians or Whig party in the seventeenth century, from the color (blue) adopted by the Covenanters in contradistinction to the royal red. II. n. 1. The color of the clear sky or of natural ultramarine, or a shade or a tint resembling it; azure. See I., 1.-2. A dye or pigment of this hue. The substances used as blue pigments are of very different natures, and derived from various sources; they are all compound bodies, some being natural and others artificial. See phrases below. 3. Bluing.-4. The sky; the atmosphere. [Po- etic.] I came and sat Below the chestnuts, when their buds Were glistening in the breezy blue . Tennyson, Miller's Daughter. 5. The sea; the deep sea. [Poetic.] -6. A member of a party, or of any company of persons, which has adopted blue as its distinctive color.-7. The heavy winter coat of the deer. See phrase in the blue, below.-8. A butterfly of the family Lycanida, found in Great Britain and other parts of Europe.-9. [Short for blue stocking.] A pedantic woman. Next to a lady I must bid adieu Whom some in mirth or malice call a blue . Crabbe. blue (blö), a. and n. [Early mod. E. reg. blew, blewe, rarely blue; (whence the reg. ME. blo, bloo, mod. E. dial. blow, north. ME. bla, blaa, mod. north. E. and Sc. blae, blea, after the Scand.: see blae ) (cf. E. mew, = Alexandria blue, a pigment used by the ancient Egyptians, composed of the silicates of copper and lime. Also tar color used for dyeing, prepared by heating nitro-alizarin with glycerin and sulphuric acid, and afterward washing with water. It occurs in commerce as a dark-violet paste containing about 10 per cent. of dry substance, and is used in wool-dyeing and calico-printing in place of indigo. under certain conditions. Also called anthracene blue. Alkali blue, in dyeing , a coal-tar color used for bright blue shades on silk and wool, but unsuited for cotton, because it will not combine with acid mordants. It con sists e entially of the sodium salt of mono sulphonic acid of rosaniline blue, and is applied in a slightly alkaline bath (hence the name). Also called fast blue and Guern sey blue. Aniline blue, a generic name for spirit-blue, soluble blue, and alkali blue. See these terms. - Anthra The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia: Dictionary distinctive colors (dark blue for Oxford and Harrow, and light blue for Cambridge and Eton) adopted by students at those institutions. [Eng.] - Ultramarine blue. See ultramarine . - Vat-blue. Same as indigo - blue.- Vic- toria blue, a coal-tar color used in dyeing. It is a dark- blue powder soluble in water, and can be dyed on wool, silk, or cotton.- Violet-blue, a blue tending toward violet, the color of the spectrum between wave-lengths .460 to.415 micron, or of such light mixed with white.- Wine-blue, œnocyan, used as a coloring matter for red wines. blue (blö), v.; pret. and pp. blued , ppr. bluing . [ blue , a.] a.] I. trans. To make blue;; dye a blue color; color with bluing; make blue by heating, as metals, etc. II.t in trans. To blush. blueback (blöʻbak), n . name (current in Yorkshire) of the coal-fish, in allusion to the bluish color of the back. - 2. The blue-backed salmon or nerka, Oncorhynchus nerka , known in Idaho as the red - fish . -3. In Maryland and Virginia, the glut-herring; a herring-like fish, Clupea æstivalis , alis , without vo- England shall many a day Tell of the bloody fray merine or palatine teeth, with the lower jaw bluebreast (blö'brest), n. Same as bluethroat . projecting but little, and the peritoneum black bluebuck (blö'buk), n. [Tr. of D. blauwbok .] ish. It is much like the alewife, but of le Same as blauwbok . value. - 4. A local name in Maine of the blue bluebush (blö'bush), n. A Mexican shrub, Ce- anothus azure us , with abundant blue flowers. Same as blue- marine). - Pru ian blue, a pigment made by precipi- tating ferric sulphate with yellow pru iate of potash, forming a ferrocyanide of iron. It is a cyan-blue like that of the spectrum of wave-length.420 micron; its chroma is strong, but its luminosity is low. Sometimes called royal blue. Raymond's blue. Same as Napoleon blue. Re- boulleau's blue. Same as blue. Same as fluorescent resorcinal blue . - Roubaix blue. Same as Coupier's blue. Royal blue. Same smalt . In dyeing, Pru ian blue is sometimes so named. -Sanders or saunders blue, a corrupt name for the French centres bleues (ultramarine ashes). - Saxony blue, hyacinth, from the shape of its droop in ers.. (c) (c) Of the grape-hyacinth, Muscari botry- oides. (d) Occasionally, of other plants with blue bell-shaped flowers. blueberry (blö'ber"i), n.; pl. blueberries (-iz). [ blue + berry1. Cf. blaeberry .] In America: (a) The fruit of several species of Vaccinium , ordinarily distinguished from the various kinds of huckleberry by its blue color and smaller seeds. The swamp or tall blueberry is the Vac- cinium corymbosum; the low blueberry, V. vacil- lans ; and the dwarf blueberry, V. Pennsyl- vanicum. See bilberry . (b) Another name of the cohosh, Caulophyllum thalictroides . bluebill (blö'bil), n. A scaup duck; the black- head (which see). blue-billy (blö'bili), n. [ billy , per- haps the proper name Billy used familiarly, as in other instances: see billy1 , billy2 .] In metal ., the residuum from pyrites, roasted for the man- ufacture of sulphuric acid, or for the extrac- tion in the moist way of the copper which it contains. This residuum, consisting mainly of peroxid of iron, is largely used as fettling in the puddling-fur- naces in parts of England. bird.] 1. An American oscine pa erine bird, of the genus Sialia , of which blue is the chief color. There are several species. The common or Wil- son's bluebird, Sialia sial is , inhabits eastern North Amer- ica. It is about 64 inches long, blue above and dull-red- dish and white below. In most parts of the United States it is a harbinger of spring, coming with a melodious song. It nests in holes, and lays plain pale-bluish eggs. The western or Mexican bluebird, S. mexican a , is very similar, but has a reddish patch on the back, and the throat blue. The arctic or Rocky Mountain bluebird, S. arctic a , is a larger species, of a paler blue than the others, fading into white below, without any red. blue-cod (blö'kod), n. A chiroid fish, Ophio- don elongatus , of the Pacific coast of the United States, better known as cultus - cod . Die- blue-creeper (blö'krēper), n . A graceful twin- ing plant of Tasmania, Come sperm a volubile , natural order Polygalaceæ , bearing an abun- Tasmania, Come sperm a vol i dance of bright-blue flowers. blue-curls (blöʻkėrlz), n. A low labiate plant of the United States, Tri cho stem a dichotomum , with blue flowers and very long coiled fila- ments. blue-devils (blödev'lz), n. pl. [See blue, a., 3, 4.] 1. Low spirits; depre ion on of mind.- 2. [With allusion to the apparitions of such delirium.] Delirium tremens. fairy bluebird of Java, Irene turcosa. blue-black (blö'blak), a. and n. I. a. Of a bluish-black color. II. n. 1. A name of ivory-black, from its bluish hue; a color resembling ivory-black. - 2. A well-burnt and levigated charcoal pre- pared from vine-twigs. Also called vine - black . blueblawt (blö'bla), n. blow , early mod. E. blewblaw , blew , blue, + blaw , appar. a varied form of blue or blae (ME. bla , etc.), later modified to blow .] An old name of the bluebottle, Centaurea Cyanus . wool and silk. It is brighter in color than that blue-blazer (blöʻblāzer), n. A sweetened and flavored drink made of Scotch whisky and water mixed, after being set on fire, by pour- ing back and forth between two mugs. blue-blind (blö'blind), a. Unable to dist in- guish the color blue from other colors. sium arseniate, and niter. The product soon turns blue when mixed with oil. Also called Reboulleau's blue. Soluble blue. (a) A coal-tar color used in dyeing, ob- tained by heating a spirit-blue with sulphuric acid, and the product with oxalic acid. Such blues are soluble in water, in distinction from the spirit - blues , which are solu- ble only in alcohol. Also called Black ley blue . (b) A Pru ian blue to which has been added an exce of prus- siate of potash. Also called ball - blue , navy blue. The blues. (a) [Contraction for blue - devils .] Low spirits; melancholy; despondency; hypochondria. See blue -dev- ils . (b) [ cap .] The name nam popularly given to the English regiment properly called the Royal Horse Guards, or Ox ford Blues , first mustered in 1661, and so called from their blue uniforms. To be a blue, to have won one's blue (which see, below). [Eng.] To win one's blue, to be chosen to represent a university (Oxford or Cambridge) or school (Harrow or Eton) in athletic contests: from the From the rarity and, in many cases, the entire absence of reference to blue in ancient literature, Geiger has maintained that, even as recently as the time of Ho- mer, our ancestors were blue - blind . Sir J. Lubbock , Pop. Sci. Mo., XXI. 200. See blueblaw . 1. A name for blueblowt, n. bluebonnet (blö'bon"et), n . the blue titmouse, Parus cærule us . Also called bluecap . Macgillivray .-2. In bot . , same as bluebottle , 1.-3. A name given to the soldiery of Scotland when it was a separate kingdom, shape, greenish or bluish above silvery below. It Bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix ). (From Report of U. S. Fish Commi ion, 1884.) sometimes attains a length of about 3 feet, though it is usually much smaller. It is common in many seas, but is best known along the Atlantic coast of the United States. Its teeth are small but trenchant, and the fish is exceedingly ravenous and destructive to other fishes. It affords excellent sport, and its flesh is esteemed for the table. IMG:content-2228.png:[blocks in formation] blue-leg (blöʻleg), n. [A sportive adaptation blue-pill (blöʻpil'), n. A pill made from blue- of blue - stocking , n.] A blue-stocking; a literar person. blueling (blö'ling), n. [ blue + -ling1 .] A small butterfly of the genus Polyommatus or Lycæna , notable for its blue color. bluely (blö'li), adv . With a blue color. Swift . blue-mantle (blöʻman"tl), n. of the English pursuivants-at-arms. The office blue- blue-pipe (blö'pip), n. The common lilac. Ray. blue-pod (blö pod), n. The name in California of species of Godetia , Godetia , natural order On a grace a , noxious weeds, with showy purple flowers. blue-poker (blöʻpōkėr), n . The pochard, Fu- ligula (or Aythya ) ferina. See pochard. [Lo- cal in Great Britain.] blue-ma (blomas), n. A drug made by rub- bing up metallic mercury with confection of roses until all the globules disappear. Of this blue-pills are made. blue-metal (blö'metal), n. See blue metal , un- blue-mold (blöʼmold), n. A common minute fungus, Penicillium crustaceum, of bluish or greenish color, found on moldy large number of foods and ces. The myceli- um or spawn sends up numerous slen- der filaments or hy- phæ, which branch at the top and bear chains of repro- ductive cells or co- nidi a. In rare cases blue-gum (blögum), n. 1. In pathol . , a blue coloration of the free edge of the gums, fre- quent in cases of lead-poisoning.-2. The blue- gum tree.-Blue-gum tree, the Eucalyptus globulus , spores are pro- an important tree of Australia, of extremely rapid growth, and known to have attained a height of 350 feet. It is reputed to be a preventive of malaria, and is now largely planted in California and other countries. Its leaves are odoriferous when bruised, and are used as a febrifuge. IMG:content-2229.png:[blocks in formation] bluene (blö'- nes), n. [ blue +-ne .] The quality of be- ing blue in any IMG:content-2230.png:[blocks in formation] IMG:content-2231.png:[blocks in formation] with detached chains of conidia, highly westward. magnified. sense. blue-nose (blö'nōz), n. 1. A native of Nova Scotia: a colloquial designation, in allusion either to the hue given to the noses of its in- habitants by its severe winter, or to a kind of potato so named which is largely produced there. Haliburton .-2. A Nova Scotian ve el. blue-ointment (blöʻointment), n. Mercurial ointment. blue-paidle (blöʻpā"dl), n. A Scotch name of the lumpsucker. blue-paper (blö'pā"per), n . Paper sensitive to light, prepared by floating white paper on a solution of pota ium ferrocyanide. It is used for copying maps and plans, printing photographic neg a- tives, etc. After exposure to light during a proper inter- val beneath the subject to be reproduced, the print is finished by immersion in several changes of clean water, which di olves from the paper that part of the ferro- pru iate which has not been acted upon by light, and brings out a fine blue color in place of the original dull gray or greenish color in those portions of the surface which have been affected. Called in the trade blue - pro- IMG:content-2232.png:[blocks in formation] blue-perch (blö'pèrch), n. 1. A local name of the common New England cunner, Ctenolabrus adspersus. See cut under cunner .-2. A Cali- fornian embiotocoid fish, Ditrema laterale , a kind of surf-fish. blue-peter (blö'pē'ter), n. orig. repeater : peter , peater .] Naut ., a blue flag having a white square in the center, hoisted at the fore royalmast- head of mer- chant ve els as a signal that the ship is ready to sail, to recall boats, etc. blue joint-gra (blö joint-grås), n. A common name in the United States of two stout bluish- stemmed gra es, Deyeuxia ( Cal a mag rostis ) Ca- nadensis , and, west of the Rocky Mountains, Agropyrum gla glaucum . blue-kite (blöʻkit), n. Same as blue - glede . blue-laid (blöʻlad), a . In paper - making , having a blue tinge: said of a cla of laid papers. blue-laws (blö'laz), n . pl . A supposititious code of severe laws for the regulation of re- ligious and personal conduct in the colonies of blue-pie (blö'pi), n. One of the species of Connecticut and New Haven; hence, any rigid ; hence, Sunday laws or religious regulations. The a er tion by some writers of the existence of the blue laws has no other basis than the adoption by the first authorities of the New Haven colony of the Scriptures as their code of law and government, and their strict application of Mosaic principles. Asiatic jays of the genus Uroci a . blue-pigeon (blö'pij'on), n. A name for a sounding-lead. blue-pike (blöʻpīk), n. A local name in the United States of the wall-eyed pike-perch, Sti- zostedion (or Lucioperca ) vitreum. were substituted for cards and go ip, and which were characterized by a studied plainne of dre on the part of some of the guests. Among these was Mr. Benjamin Stilling fleet, who always wore blue stockings, and in ref- erence to whom, especially, the coterie was called in de- rision the "Blue-stocking Society" or the "Blue-stocking Club," and the members, especially the ladies, "blue- "blue-stockings" or "blues. stockingers," "blue-stocking ladies," and later simply IMG:content-2233.png:[graphic] bluet 3. In ornith., a humming-bird of the subgenus Basil inn a, as the Mexican B. leucotis, or the Californian B. xantusi, one of the queen-hummers. blue tail (blöʼtāl), n. An American lizard of the family Scincida, Eumeces quinque - line at us or fasci at us, with a blue tail, inhabiting the southern and middle United States. It is the most northern species of the genus.