bland

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See also: Bland and blând

English

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Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /blænd/
  • Rhymes: -ænd
  • Audio (Canada):(file)

Etymology 1

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Borrowed from Latin blandus (pleasant, flattering).

Adjective

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bland (comparative blander, superlative blandest)

  1. Having a soothing effect; not irritating or stimulating.
    a bland oil
    a bland diet
  2. Lacking in taste or flavor.
    Synonyms: flat, tasteless, wallow; see also Thesaurus:insipid
    The coffee was bland.
  3. Lacking in vigor.
    • 2012, John Shepherd, David Horn, Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World:
      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. (figurative) Lacking interest; boring; dull.
    Synonyms: lackluster, wan; see also Thesaurus:boring, Thesaurus:dim
    bland comment
    • 1996, “Country House”, in The Great Escape, performed by Blur:
      He's reading Balzac and knocking back Prozac / It's a helping hand that makes you feel wonderfully bland
  5. (now rare) Mild; soft, gentle, balmy; smooth in manner; suave.
    • 1818, John Keats, Sonnet:
      Where didst thou find, young Bard, thy sounding lyre? / Where the bland accent, and the tender tone?
    • 1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter IX, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:
      “A tight little craft,” was Austin’s invariable comment on the matron; []. ¶ Near her wandered her husband, orientally bland, invariably affable, and from time to time squinting sideways, as usual, in the ever-renewed expectation that he might catch a glimpse of his stiff, retroussé moustache.
Derived terms
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Translations
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Etymology 2

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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

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bland (third-person singular simple present blands, present participle blanding, simple past and past participle blanded)

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

Etymology 3

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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).

Alternative forms

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Noun

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bland (countable and uncountable, plural blands)

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia
  1. (UK dialectal) Mixture; union.
  2. A summer beverage prepared from the whey of churned milk, common among the inhabitants of the Shetland Islands.
    Hypernym: fermented milk product
    Coordinate terms: kefir, koumiss
Derived terms
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References

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Danish

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Verb

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bland

  1. imperative of blande

German

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Latin blandus.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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bland (strong nominative masculine singular blander, not comparable)

  1. (medicine) bland

Declension

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Further reading

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  • bland” in Duden online
  • bland” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

Icelandic

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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bland n (genitive singular blands, no plural)

  1. mix

Declension

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    Declension of bland
n-s singular
indefinite definite
nominative bland blandið
accusative bland blandið
dative blandi blandinu
genitive blands blandsins

Derived terms

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Norwegian Bokmål

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Verb

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bland

  1. imperative of blande

Norwegian Nynorsk

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Verb

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bland

  1. imperative of blande

Swedish

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Etymology

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(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

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Preposition

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bland

  1. among

Derived terms

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