blue

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Contents

English[edit]

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Wikipedia

Various shades of blue.
A Jämthund, which is a dog with blue (gray) fur.
The logo of the US Democratic Party, which consists of a light blue D inside a darker blue circle.
A bluefish.

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Middle English blewe, partially from Old English *blǣw ("blue"; found in derivative blǣwen (“bluish”)); and partially from Anglo-Norman blew, blef (“blue”), from Medieval Latin blāvus, blāvius (“blue”), from Old Frankish *blāw, *blāo (“blue”); both from Proto-Germanic *blēwaz (“blue, dark blue”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰlēw- (“yellow, blond, grey”). Cognate with English dialectal blow (“blue”), Scots blue, blew (“blue”), North Frisian bla, blö (“blue”), Saterland Frisian blau (“blue”), Dutch blauw (“blue”), German blau (“blue”), Swedish blå (“blue”), Icelandic blár (“blue”), Latin flāvus (“yellow”), Middle Irish blá (“yellow”), Lithuanian blãvas (“blue”). Doublet of blae.

Pronunciation[edit]

Adjective[edit]

blue (comparative bluer, superlative bluest)

  1. Having a bluish colour shade.
  2. (informal) Depressed, melancholic, sad.
  3. (entertainment, informal) Pornographic or profane.
  4. (US, politics) Supportive of, run by (a member of), pertaining to, or dominated by a political party represented by the colour blue. (e.g. The Conservatives, the Democrats)
    I live in a blue constituency.
    Congress turned blue in the mid-term elections.
  5. (politics, Australia) of or related to the Liberal Party.
    Illawarra turns blue in Liberal washout. ABC News 29 March 11.
  6. (astronomy) Of the higher-frequency region of the part of the electromagnetic spectrum which is relevant in the specific observation.
  7. (of steak) Extra rare; left very raw and cold.
  8. (of a dog) Possessing a coat of fur that is a shade of gray

Translations[edit]

blue-colored
depressed
pornographic
of or pertaining to US Democratic Party

Noun[edit]

blue (plural blues)

  1. The colour of the clear sky or the deep sea, between green and violet in the visible spectrum, and one of the primary additive colours for transmitted light; the colour obtained by subtracting red and green from white light using magenta and cyan filters; or any colour resembling this.
    blue colour:    
  2. A blue dye or pigment.
  3. Any of several processes to protect metal against rust.
  4. Blue clothing
    The boys in blue marched to the pipers.
  5. (in the plural) A blue uniform. See blues.
  6. The sky, literally or figuratively.
    The ball came out of the blue and cracked his windshield.
    His request for leave came out of the blue.
  7. The ocean; deep waters.
  8. Anything blue, especially to distinguish it from similar objects differing only in color.
  9. (snooker) One of the colour balls used in snooker, with a value of 5 points.
  10. Any of the blue-winged butterflies of the subfamily Polyommatini in the family Lycaenidae.
  11. A bluefish.
  12. (Australia, colloquial) An argument.
    • 2008, Cheryl Jorgensen, The Taint, page 135,
      If they had a blue between themselves, they kept it there, it never flowed out onto the streets to innocent people — like a lot of things that have been happenin′ on the streets today.
    • 2009, John Gilfoyle, Remember Cannon Hill, page 102,
      On another occasion, there was a blue between Henry Daniels and Merv Wilson down at the pig sale. I don′t know what it was about, it only lasted a minute or so, but they shook hands when it was over and that was the end of it.
    • 2011, Julietta Jameson, Me, Myself and Lord Byron, unnumbered page,
      I was a bit disappointed. Was that it? No abuse like Lord Byron had endured? Not that I was wishing that upon myself. It was just that a blue between my parents, albeit a raging, foul, bile-spitting hate fest, was not exactly Charles Dickens.
  13. A liquid with an intense blue colour, added to a laundry wash to prevent yellowing of white clothes.
  14. (UK) a type of firecracker

Translations[edit]

colour
blue pigment
bluing — see bluing
blue clothing
blue uniform — see blues
sky, literally or figuratively — see sky
ocean, deep waters
anything blue
snooker: ball with a value of 5 points
butterfly of the subfamily Polyommatinae
bluefish — see bluefish
argument — see argument
liquid added to a laundry wash to prevent yellowing of white clothes
type of firecracker

External links[edit]

Verb[edit]

blue (third-person singular simple present blues, present participle blueing or bluing, simple past and past participle blued)

  1. (ergative) To make or become blue.
  2. (transitive) (metallurgy) To treat the surface of steel so that it is passivated chemically and becomes more resistant to rust.
  3. (transitive, slang) To spend (money) extravagantly; to blow.
    • 1974, GB Edwards, The Book of Ebenezer Le Page, New York 2007, p. 311:
      They was willing to blue the lot and have nothing left when they got home except debts on the never-never.

Translations[edit]

to make blue
to turn blue
to passivate steel
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

Derived terms[edit]

Terms derived from the adjective, noun, or verb blue

See also[edit]

Anagrams[edit]

Esperanto[edit]

Adverb[edit]

blue

  1. bluely
    blue colour:    

Related terms[edit]

  • blua (“blue”)
  • blui (“to be blue”)
  • bluo (“the color blue”)
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