blot2 (blot)

[First at the end of the 16th century; origin unknown. Plausibly referred to Dan. blot = Sw. blott, bare, exposed; exposed; cf. Dan. Sw. blotta blotta, lay bare, expose one's self; Sw. blottställa = D. blootstellen, expose (the Scand. forms are prob. of LG. origin, blotte = D. bloot, bare, naked, exposed); but there is no historical evidence for the connection.] In backgammon: (a) A single exposed piece which is liable to be forfeited or taken up. (b) The exposure of a piece in this way. - To hit the blot, to take a single exposed piece in the game of backgammon: often used figuratively. Mr. Ellis hits the blot when he says that "absolute certainty and a mechanical mode of procedure, such that all men should be capable of employing it, are the two great features of the Bacon i an system." The Nation, April 24, 1884, p. 369. blotch (bloch), n. [Not found in ME., or in other languages; appar. a var. of blot1 , affected in sense and form by botch1 , a pustule, and perhaps by dial. blatch , q. v.] 1. A pustule upon the skin. Blotches and tumours that break out in the body. Spectator , No. 16. IMG:content-2219.png:[blocks in formation]