bleak
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Contents |
English [edit]
Pronunciation [edit]
Etymology 1 [edit]
From Middle English bleke (also bleche > English bleach (“pale, bleak”)), and bleike (due to Old Norse), and earlier Middle English blak, blac (“pale, wan”), from Old English blǣc, blǣċ, blāc (“bleak, pale, pallid, wan, livid; bright, shining, glittering, flashing”) and Old Norse bleikr (“pale, whitish”)[1], from Proto-Germanic *blaikaz (“pale, shining”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰlē-, *bʰel- (“to shine”). Cognate with Dutch bleek (“pale, wan, pallid”), Low German blek (“pale”), German bleich (“pale, wan, sallow”), Danish bleg (“pale”), Swedish blek (“pale, pallid”), Faroese bleikur (“pale”), Icelandic bleikur (“pale, pink”).
Adjective [edit]
bleak (comparative bleaker, superlative bleakest)
- Without color; pale; pallid.
- Desolate and exposed; swept by cold winds.
- Unhappy; cheerless; miserable.
- Downtown Albany felt bleak that February after the divorce.
- A bleak future is in store for you.
Translations [edit]
without color
desolate and exposed
cheerless
|
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked
|
Etymology 2 [edit]
Probably from Old Norse bleikja.
Noun [edit]
bleak (plural bleaks)
- A small European river fish (Alburnus alburnus), of the family Cyprinidae.
Synonyms [edit]
Translations [edit]
small European river fish