A- (3) prefix meaning "not," from Gk a-, an- "not," from pie base *ne "not" (see un-)

birth --- c.1230, from O.N. *byrðr, which replaced O.E. gebyrd "birth," from P.Gmc. *gaburthis (cf. Ger. geburt, Goth. gabaurþs), from PIE *bhrto pp. of base *bher- "to bear" (cf. Skt. bhrtih "a bringing, maintenance," L. fors, gen. fortis "chance;" see bear (v.)). Suffix -th is for "process" (as in bath, death). Meaning "parentage, lineage, extraction" is from c.1240. Birthday is c.1000; birthnight is 1628; birthplace is from 1607; birthright is 1535. Birth control first attested 1914. Birthday suit first attested 1730s, but probably much older.

biscuit --- respelled early 19c. from bisket (16c.), ultimately (1330) from O.Fr. bescuit "twice cooked," alt. under infl. of O.It. biscotto, from M.L. biscoctum, from L. (panis) bis coctus "(bread) twice-baked."

bisect --- 1646, from Mod.L. bisectus, pp. of bisecare, from bi- "two" + secare "to cut" (see section).

bisexuality --- attraction to both sexes 1892, in translation of Krafft-Ebing; bisexual (adj.) is 1914; earlier meaning (1824) was "hermaphroditic." Not in general use until 1950s. Noun is 1922. Ambisexual was suggested 1924 but never caught on. Abbreviated form bi first attested 1956.

bishop --- O.E. bisceop, from L.L. episcopus, from Gk. episkopos "watcher, overseer," a title for various government officials, later taken over in a Church sense, from epi- "over" + skopos "watcher," from skeptesthai "look at." Given a specific sense in the Church, but the word also was used in the N.T. as a descriptive title for elders, and continues as such in some non-hierarchical Christian sects. The chess piece (formerly archer, before that alfin) was so called from 1562. Bishopric is O.E. bisceoprice, from rice "realm."

Bismarck --- drink of champagne and stout (also called a black velvet), 1910, named for the Ger. chancellor (1815-98), who was said to have been fond of it.

bismuth --- 1668, from Ger. wissmuth (1629), of unknown origin.

bison --- 1601, from L. bison "wild ox," borrowed from P.Gmc. *wisand- "aurochs" (cf. O.N. visundr, O.H.G. wisunt "bison," O.E./M.E. wesend, which is not attested after c.1400). Possibly ult. of Baltic or Slavic origin, and meaning "the stinking animal," in ref. to its scent while rutting (see weasel). A European wild ox formerly widespread on the continent, including the British Isles, now surviving on forest reserves in Lithuania. Applied 1693 to the N.Amer. species commonly mis-called a buffalo.

bisque --- 1647, from Fr. bisque "crayfish soup," said to be an altered form of Biscaye "Biscay."

bistro --- 1922, from Fr. bistro (1884), originally Parisian slang for "little wineshop or restaurant," of unknown origin. Commonly said to be from Russian bee-stra "quickly," picked up during the Allied occupation of Paris in 1815 after the defeat of Napoleon; but this, however quaint, is unlikely. Another guess is that it is from bistraud "a little shepherd," a word of the Poitou dialect, from biste "goat."

bit (1) --- related O.E. words bite "act of biting," and bita "piece bitten off," are probably the source of the modern words meaning "boring-piece of a drill" (1594), "mouthpiece of a horse's bridle" (c.1340), and "a piece bitten off, morsel" (c.1000). All from P.Gmc. *biton, from PIE base *bheid- "to split" (see fissure). Meaning "small piece, fragment" is from 1606. Theatrical bit part is from 1926. Money sense in two bits, six bits, etc. is originally from Southern U.S. and West Indies, in ref. to silver wedges cut or stamped from Sp. dollars (later Mexican reals); transferred to "eighth of a dollar."

bit (2) --- computerese word, 1948 abbreviation (coined by J.W. Tukey) of binary digit, probably chosen for its identity with bit (1). Bit map first attested 1973. Byte, meaning eight bits, probably coined at IBM c.1964.

bitch --- O.E. bicce, probably from O.N. bikkjuna "female of the dog" (also fox, wolf, and occasionally other beasts), of unknown origin. Grimm derives the O.N. word from Lapp pittja, but OED notes that "the converse is equally possible." As a term of contempt applied to women, it dates from c.1400; of a man, c.1500, playfully, in the sense of "dog." In modern (1990s, originally black English) slang, its use with ref. to a man is sexually contemptuous, from the "woman" insult. "BITCH. A she dog, or doggess; the most offensive appellation that can be given to an English woman, even more provoking than that of whore." ["Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue," 1811] The adj. bitchy "bad-tempered" (usually of females) is first attested 1925. The verb meaning "to complain" is at least from 1930, perhaps from the sense in bitchy, perhaps influenced by the verb meaning "to bungle, spoil," which is recorded from 1823. But bitched in this sense seems to echo M.E. bicched "cursed, bad," a general term of opprobrium (e.g. Chaucer's bicched bones "(unlucky) dice"), which despite the hesitation of OED, seems certainly to be a derivative of bitch. And cf. the mid-19th century U.S. blackface minstrel song verse about women's rights movement: When woman's rights is stirred a bit De first reform she bitches on Is how she can wid least delay Just draw a pair ob britches on. Insult son of a bitch is O.N. bikkju-sonr. Slang bitchen "good" is first attested 1950s. Bitch-goddess coined 1906 by William James; the original one was success.

bite --- O.E. bitan (class I strong verb; past tense bat, pp. biten), from P.Gmc. *bitan (O.Fris. bita, M.Du. biten, Ger. beissen, Goth. beitan), from PIE base *bheid- "to split, crack" (see fissure). Frostbitten is attested from 1552. To bite the bullet is 1700s military slang, from old medical custom of having the patient bite a bullet during an operation to divert attention from pain and reduce screaming. To bite (one's) tongue "refrain from speaking" is 1593. To bite the dust "die" is 1750. To bite off more than one can chew (c.1880) is U.S. slang, from plug tobacco.

bitter --- O.E. biter, akin to bitan "bite," from P.Gmc. *bitras, from PIE base *bheid- "to split" (see fissure). Meaning moved in prehistoric times from "biting" to "acrid-tasting." Transferred to state of mind and to words in O.E. Bittersweet is 14c. in literal and figurative senses; bitters, so called for its taste, is from 1713. Phrase to the bitter end is attested from 1849.

bittern --- 13c., botor, from O.Fr. butor, from Gallo-Romance *butitaurus, from L. butionem "bittern" + taurus "bull" (see steer (n.)); according to Pliny, so called because of its booming voice, but this seems fanciful.

bitumen --- 1460, from L. bitumen "asphalt," probably, via Oscan or Umbrian, from a Celtic source (cf. Gaulish betulla "birch," used by Pliny for the tree supposedly the source of bitumen). Bituminous is from 1620.

bivalve --- 1677 (adj.) in ref. to shutters or doors; 1661 in ref. to shellfish; from bi- + valve. The noun is 1683 in the mollusk sense.

bivouac --- 1702, from Fr., ult. from Swiss/Alsatian biwacht "night guard," from bei- "double, additional" + wacht "guard." Original meaning was an army that stayed up on night watch; sense of "outdoor camp" is 1853. Not a common word in Eng. before the Napoleonic Wars.

bizarre --- c.1648, from Fr. bizarre "odd, fantastic," originally "handsome, brave," from Basque bizar "a beard" (th notion being of the strange impression made in France by bearded Sp. soldiers); alternative etymology traces it to It. bizarro "angry, fierce, irascible," from bizza "fit of anger."

blab --- 1535, from noun meaning "one who does not control his tongue" (c.1374), probably echoic.

blabber (v.) --- 1362, frequentative of blabben, of echoic origin. Blabbermouth first recorded 1936.

black --- O.E. blæc "black," from P.Gmc. *blak- (cf. O.N. blakkr "dark," Du. blaken "to burn"), from PIE *bhleg- "burn, gleam" (cf. Gk. phlegein "to burn, scorch," L. flagrare "to blaze, glow, burn"). Same root produced O.E. blac "white, bright" (see bleach), the common notion being "lack of hue." The main O.E. word for "black" was sweart. "In ME. it is often doubtful whether blac, blak, blake, means 'black, dark,' or 'pale, colourless, wan, livid.' " Adjective used of dark-skinned people in O.E. The noun in this sense is first attested 1625 (blackamoor is from 1547; see moor). Of coffee, first attested 1796. Sense of "dark purposes, malignant" emerged 1583 (e.g. black art, 1590). Black list "list of persons who have incurred suspicion" is from 1692. Black market first attested 1931. Black eye in figurative sense of "bad reputation" is from 1880s. Blackberry was in O.E.; blackbird is from 1486. Black friar "Dominican" is first recorded 1500, so called from the color of their dress. black widow spider (1915) so called from the female's supposed habit of eating the male after mating (they are cannibalistic, but this particular behavior is rare in the wild). Black panther is from 1965, the movement an outgrowth of Student Nonviolent Co-ordinating Committee. Black comedy first recorded 1963 (cf. Fr. pièce noire). To be in the black (1928) is from the accounting practice of recording credits and balances in black ink. Black Hills of S. Dakota (transl. Lakhota pahá-sapa) supposedly so called because their densely forested flanks look dark from a distance. For Black Sea, see Euxine.

Black Death --- bubonic/pneumonic plague epidemic of 1347-51 in Europe, a modern name, introduced in Eng. 1823 by Elizabeth Penrose's history of England. The contemporary name for it in most languages was something like "the great dying." The term "Black Death" first turns up in 16c. Swed. and Dan. chronicles, but in ref. to a visitation of plague in Iceland in 1402-3 that carried off much of the population there. The exact sense of "black" is not clear. The term was picked up in Ger. 18c., applied to the earlier outbreak, and taken from there into Eng.

black hole --- in astrophysics is from 1968, probably with awareness of Black Hole of Calcutta, incident of 1756 in which 146 Europeans were locked up overnight in punishment cell of barracks at Ft. William, Calcutta, and all but 23 perished.

black sheep --- figurative use is supposedly because a real black sheep had wool that could not be dyed and was thus worthless. But one black sheep in a flock was considered good luck by shepherds in Sussex, Somerset, Kent, Derbyshire. Baa Baa Black Sheep nursery rhyme's first known publication is in "Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book" (c.1744).

Black Shirt --- 1922, member of Fasci di Combattimento, It. paramilitary unit founded 1919 by Mussolini; so called for their uniforms.

blackball (v.) --- to exclude from a club by adverse votes, 1770, from black + ball. Black balls of wood or ivory dropped into the urn during secret ballots.

blackguard --- 1532, of uncertain application. Perhaps once an actual military or guard unit; more likely orig. a mock-military ref. to scullions and kitchen-knaves of noble households, of black-liveried personal guards, and of shoeblacks. By 1736, sense had emerged of "one of the criminal class."

blackmail --- 1552, second element is M.E. male "rent, tribute," from O.E. mal "lawsuit, terms, bargaining, agreement," from O.N. mal "speech, agreement;" related to O.E. mæðel "meeting, council," mæl "speech," Goth. maþl "meeting place." From the practice of freebooting clan chieftains who ran protection rackets against Scottish farmers. Black from the evil of the practice. Expanded c.1826 to any type of extortion money. Verb is 1880.

blackout --- 1913 in the theatrical sense of a darkened stage, from black + out. Fig. sense of "loss of memory" is 1934; as a dousing of lights as an air raid precaution, it is recorded from 1935.

bladder --- O.E. blædre (W.Saxon), bledre (Anglian), from P.Gmc. *blaedron (cf. O.N. blaðra, O.H.G. blattara), from PIE *bhle- (see blast).

blade --- O.E. blæd "a leaf," but also "a leaf-like part" (of spade, oar, etc.), P.Gmc. *bladaz (cf. O.Fris. bled "leaf," Ger. blatt, O.N. blað), from PIE *bhle-to-, suffixed form of *bhel- "to thrive, bloom" (see bole). Extended in M.E. to shoulders (c.1300) and swords (1330). The modern use in reference to grass may be a M.E. revival, by infl. of L. bladum, O.Fr. bled "corn, wheat." The cognate in Ger., blatt, is the general word for "leaf;" laub is used collectively as "foliage." O.N. blað was used in ref. to herbs and plants, lauf in ref. to trees. This may have been the original distinction in O.E., too.

blah (n.) --- idle, meaningless talk, 1918, probably echoic; the adj. meaning "bland, dull" is from 1919, perhaps infl. by Fr. blasé "bored, indifferent." The blahs "depression" is first attested 1969.

blain --- see chilblain.

blame --- c.1200, from O.Fr. blasmer "to speak evil of," from L.L. blasphemare "revile, reproach" (see blaspheme). Replaced O.E. witan.

blanch (1) --- 1398, from O.Fr. blanchir "to whiten," from blanc "white" (see blank). Originally "to remove the hull of (almonds, etc.) by soaking." Intrans. sense of "to turn white" is from 1768.

blanch (2) --- to start back, turn aside, 1572, variant of blench (q.v.).

blancmange --- 1377, from O.Fr. blancmanger, lit. "white eating," originally a dish of fowl minced with cream, rice, almonds, sugar, eggs, etc.

bland --- 1661, from It. blando "delicate," or O.Fr. bland "flattering," both from L. blandus "mild, smooth," probably from PIE *mldu- "soft."

blandish --- c.1305, from O.Fr. blandiss- stem of blandir "to flatter," from L. blandiri "flatter," from blandus "mild, smooth" (see bland).

blank --- 1230, from O.Fr. blanc "white, shining," from Frank. *blank "white, gleaming," of W.Gmc. origin (cf. O.E. blanca "white horse"), from P.Gmc. *blangkaz, from PIE *bhleg- "to shine" (see bleach). Originally "colorless," meaning "having empty spaces" evolved c.1400. Sense of "void of expression" (a blank look) is from 1553. The noun in the sense of "empty space" (in a document, etc.) is from c.1570.

blanket --- c.1300, from O.Fr. blanchet dim. of blanc "white" (see blank). The verb is first recorded 1605. Wet blanket (1830) is from the notion of a person who throws a damper on social situations like a wet blanket smothers a fire.

blare --- c.1390, bleren "to wail," possibly from an unrecorded O.E. *blæren, or from M.Du. bleren "to bleat, cry, bawl, shout." Probably echoic, either way.

blarney --- 1796, from Blarney Stone (which is said to make a persuasive flatterer of any who kiss it), in a castle near Cork, Ireland; reached wide currency through Lady Blarny, the smooth-talking flatterer in Goldsmith's "Vicar of Wakefield" (1766).

blasé --- bored from overindulgence, 1819, from Fr. blasé, pp. of blaser "to satiate," origin unknown. Perhaps from Du. blazen "to blow," with a sense of "puffed up under the effects of drinking."

blasphemy --- c.1225, from O.Fr. blasfemie, from L.L. blasphemia, from Gk. blasphemia "profane, speech, slander," from blasphemein "to speak evil of." Second element is pheme "utterance" (see fame); first element uncertain, perhaps related to blaptikos "hurtful," though blax "slack (in body and mind), stupid" has also been suggested.

blast --- O.E. blæst "puff of wind," from PIE *bhle-, var. of base *bhel- "to swell, blow up" (see bole). Meaning "explosion" is from 1635; that of "noisy party, good time" is from 1953, Amer.Eng. slang. Sense of "strong current of air for iron-smelting" (1697) led to blast furnace and transf. sense in full blast "the extreme" (1839). Blast was the usual word for "a smoke of tobacco" c.1600. Blast off first recorded 1951.

blasted --- stricken by malignant forces (natural or supernatural), cursed, blighted, 1552, from blast (q.v.), with the notion of "balefully breathed upon." In the sense of "cursed, damned" it is attested from 1682. Meaning "drunk or stoned" it dates from 1972.

blatant --- 1596, in blatant beast, coined by Edmund Spenser in "The Faerie Queen" to describe a thousand-tongued monster representing slander, probably from L. blatire "to babble." It entered general use 1656, as "noisy in an offensive and vulgar way;" the sense of "obvious, glaringly conspicuous" is from 1889.

blather --- 1524, Scottish, probably from a Scand. source, such as O.N. blaðr "to chatter, babble," probably of imitative origin. Blatherskite "talker of blatant nonsense" (1650) was popularized in U.S. during the Revolution by the Scottish song "Maggie Lauder."

blaxploitation --- 1972, from black + exploitation.

blaze (1) --- fire, O.E. blæse "a torch, flame," from P.Gmc. *blason, from PIE *bhles- "shine," from base *bhel- (see black). The verb is c.1225. Blazes as a euphemism for "hell" dates from 1818.

blaze (2) --- light-colored mark or spot, 1639, northern Eng. dialect, probably from O.N. blesi "white spot on a horse's face" (from the same root as blaze (1)). Applied 1662 in Amer.Eng. to marks cut on tree trunks to indicate a track. The verb "to mark a trail" is first recorded 1750, Amer.Eng.

blaze (3) --- make public (often in a bad sense, boastfully), c.1384, from M.Du. blasen "to blow" (on a trumpet), from P.Gmc. *blaes-an, from PIE *bhle-, var. of base *bhel- "to swell, blow up" (see bole).

blazer --- bright-colored jacket, 1880, British university slang, from blaze (1), in reference to the red flannel jackets worn by the Lady Margaret, St. John College, Cambridge boating club.

blazon --- 1278, from O.Fr. blason "a shield, blazon," of uncertain origin.

bleach --- O.E. blæcan, from P.Gmc. *blaikos "white," from PIE *bhleg- "to gleam," root of blanche, blank, bleak and probably black. The connection seems to be "burning, blazing, shining, whiteness." That the same root yielded words for "black" and "white" is probably because both are colorless, and perhaps because both are associated with burning. Bleachers (1889, Amer.Eng.) were so-named because the boards were bleached by the sun.

bleak --- c.1300, from O.N. bleikr "pale" (see bleach). Sense of "cheerless" is c.1719 figurative extension. The same Gmc. root produced the O.E. blac "pale," but this died out, probably from confusion with blæc "black;" but bleikr persisted, with a sense of "bare" as well as "pale."

blear --- c.1300, blere "watery, rheumy," perhaps related to blur.

bleat --- O.E. blætan, common W.Gmc., of imitative origin (cf. Gk. blekhe, O.C.S. blejat).

bleed --- O.E. bledan, from P.Gmc. *blothjan "emit blood" (cf. O.N. blæða, Ger. bluten), from *blotham "blood" (see blood). Bleeding heart in the sense of "person excessively sympathetic" (esp. toward those the writer deems not to deserve it) is first attested 1958 according to OED, but said by many to have been popularized with ref. to liberals (esp. Eleanor Roosevelt) in 1930s by newspaper columnist Westbrook Pegler (1894-1969), though quotations are wanting. Bleeding in a fig. sense of "generous" is from late 16c., but the exact image here may be of the "bleeding heart of Jesus."

bleep --- electronic noise, 1953, imitative. Meaning "edit a sound over a word deemed unfit for broadcast" is from 1968.

blemish (v.) --- c.1325, from O.Fr. blemiss- "to turn pale," extended stem of blemir, blesmir "to injure, make pale," probably from Frank. *blesmjan "to cause to turn pale" (from the same source as blaze (1)). The noun is first recorded 1526.

blench --- O.E. blencan "deceive," from P.Gmc. *blankjanan. Sense of "move suddenly, wince, dodge" is from c.1300.

blend --- c.1300, in northern writers, from O.E. (Mercian) blondan or O.N. blanda "to mix," or a combination of both, both probably from PIE *bhlendh- "to glimmer indistinctly" (cf. Lith. blandus "troubled, turbid, thick;" O.C.S. blesti "to go astray").

blenny --- 1774, from L. blennius (in Pliny), from Gk. blennos, from blenna "slime, mucus," so called from the coating on the fishes' scales.

bless --- O.E. bletsian, bledsian, Northumbrian bloedsian "to consecrate, make holy," from P.Gmc. *blothisojan "mark with blood," from *blotham "blood" (see blood). Originally a blood sprinkling on pagan altars. This word was chosen in O.E. bibles to translate L. benedicere and Gk. eulogein, both of which have a ground sense of "to speak well of, to praise," but were used in Scripture to translate Heb. brk "to bend (the knee), worship, praise, invoke blessings." Meaning shifted in late O.E. toward "to confer happiness, well-being," by resemblance to unrelated bliss. No cognates in other languages. Blessing is O.E. bledsung.

blight --- 1611, origin obscure, apparently emerged into literary speech from the talk of gardeners and farmers, perhaps ult. from O.E. blæce, blæcðu, a scrofulous skin condition and/or from O.N. blikna "become pale." Used in a general way of agricultural diseases, sometimes with suggestion of "invisible baleful influence;" hence figurative sense of "anything which withers hopes or prospects or checks prosperity" (1852). The verb in this sense is from 1712. Hence slang blighter (1896) "contemptible fellow," but often jocular.

blimey --- 1889, corruption of (God) blind me!

blimp --- 1916, of obscure origin, many claimants. "One of the weird coinages of the airmen" [Weekley]. Common theory is that it is from designers' prototype nickname Type B-limp, in the sense of "without internal framework," as opposed to Type A-rigid.

blind (adj.) --- O.E. blind "blind," probably sharing with blend a P.Gmc. base *blindaz, from PIE base *bhlendh- "to glimmer indistinctly, to mix, confuse" (cf. Lith. blendzas "blind," blesti "to become dark"). The original sense, not of "sightless," but of "confused," perhaps underlies such phrases as blind alley. The verb is O.E. blendan, influenced in M.E. by the adj. The noun meaning "anything that obstructs sight" is from 1535. Blindman's bluff is from 1590. Blind date is from 1920s. Blind side "unguarded aspect" is from 1606; the verb meaning "to hit from the blind side" (written as one word) first attested 1968, Amer.Eng., in ref. to U.S. football. "The twilight, or rather the hour between the time when one can no longer see to read and the lighting of the candles, is commonly called blindman's holiday." [1796]

blindfold (v.) --- c.1225, from O.E. (ge)blindfellian "to strike blind," altered by similarity to fold, from blind + Anglian gefeollan "to strike down," as in to fell a tree. The noun is from 1880.

blink --- 1590, from M.Du. blinken "to glitter," of uncertain origin (possibly akin to bleach; cf. Ger. blinken "to gleam, sparkle, twinkle"). M.E. used blekne in this sense, related to blench (q.v.).

blintz --- 1903, from Yiddish blintze, from Rus. blinyets, dim. of blin "pancake."

blip --- 1894, of echoic origin. Radar screen sense is from 1945.

bliss --- O.E. bliðs, from P.Gmc. *blithsjo, from *blithiz "gentle, kind" + -tjo noun suffix. Associated with blithe (q.v.).

blister (n.) --- c.1300, from O.Fr. blestre, perhaps from a Scand. source (cf. O.N. blastr "a blowing," dat. blæstri "swelling"), or from M.Du. blyster "swelling," from the root of blast (q.v.). The verb meaning "to raise blisters on" is from 1496.

blithe --- O.E. bliþe "joyous, kind," from P.Gmc. *blithiz "gentle, kind" (cf. O.S. bliði "bright, happy," O.N. bliðr "mild, gentle," O.H.G. blidi "gay, friendly," Goth. bleiþs "kind, friendly, merciful"). Rare since 16c. No cognates outside Gmc. "The earlier application was to the outward expression of kindly feeling, sympathy, affection to others, as in Gothic and ON.; but in OE. the word had come more usually to be applied to the external manifestation of one's own pleased or happy frame of mind, and hence even to the state itself." [OED]

blithering --- 1889, from blither "to talk nonsense" (1868), a variant of blather (q.v.).

blitz --- 1940, shortening of Ger. Blitzkrieg (1939) "rapid attack," from Blitz "lightning" (from M.H.G. blicze, from bliczen "to flash") + Krieg "war" (see kriegspiel). The use in U.S. football is from 1963.

blizzard --- 1859, origin obscure (perhaps somehow connected with blaze (1)), it came into general use in the hard winter 1880-81, though it was used with a sense of "violent blow" in Amer.Eng., 1829; and blizz "violent rainstorm" is attested from 1770.