Block

See also: block

English

A Germanic surname (German, Dutch and English), from German Block and Dutch blok respectively. As an English surname from the same cognate, block.
As a Jewish surname, Americanized from Bloch. Also see Vlach.

Block (countable and uncountable, plural Blocks)

A surname.
- 1994, Tom Pendergast, Sara Pendergast, Gay & Lesbian Literature: Introduction to gay male literature, page 37:
  The major themes in Francesca Lia Block's books include the necessity of love and the acceptance of and celebration of racial and sexual difference.
- 2011 January 25, “Portlandia”, in BOMB‎^[1]:
  Zachary Block chats with Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen about their new show, Portlandia, which airs on IFC, Fridays at 10:30.
1. A surname from the Germanic languages
  1. A surname from German
  2. A surname from Dutch
  3. An English surname
2. A Jewish surname
An unincorporated community in Champaign County, Illinois, United States.
An unincorporated community in Miami County, Kansas, United States.
Synonym: Block Corners
An unincorporated community in Campbell County, Tennessee, United States.

From Middle High German bloc, from Old High German bloc. The more common Middle High German form was originally bloch, from Old High German bloh. The variant prevailed in modern German under the reinforcing influence of Middle Low German block. All from Proto-West Germanic *blokk, from Proto-Germanic *blukką.

The architectural sense is loaned from English block (and may therefore take a plural in -s).

Block m (strong, genitive Blockes or Blocks, plural Blöcke or Blocks)

(politics) bloc
block (thick, roughly cuboid object, e.g. cake of soap, block of ice, wood, etc.)
block (large building or group of such)
Synonym: Gebäudeblock
pad (of paper)
Synonym: Papierblock

The normal plural is Blöcke.
The plural Blocks is often, but not necessarily, used for sense 3 (“large building”).

¹Now rare, see notes.