blight

blight
\ \ [17] Blight appeared out of the blue in the early 17th century in agricultural and horticultural texts, and its origins are far from clear. It has, however, been speculated that it may be connected with the Old English words blǣce and blǣcthu, both terms for some sort of itchy skin condition such as scabies. These in turn are probably related to Old English blǣcanbleach’, the link being the flaky whiteness of the infected skin. In Middle English, blǣcthu would have become *bleht, which could plausibly have been the source of blight. A related piece in the jigsaw is blicheningblight or rust in corn’, found once in Middle English, which may have come ultimately from Old Norse bliknabecome pale’.
\ \ Cf.BLEACH

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Blight — refers to a specific symptom affecting plants in response to infection by a pathogenic organism. It is simply a rapid and complete chlorosis, browning, then death of plant tissues such as leaves, branches, twigs, or floral organs. [Agrios, George …   Wikipedia

  • blight — blight; blight·ed; blight·er; blight·ing; blight·ing·ly; un·blight·ed·ly; …   English syllables

  • Blight — (bl[imac]t), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Blighted}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Blighting}.] [Perh. contr. from AS. bl[=i]cettan to glitter, fr. the same root as E. bleak. The meaning to blight comes in that case from to glitter, hence, to be white or pale, grow… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • blight — [blīt] n. [? akin to ME blichening, blight, rust (on grain) < bliknen, to lose color < ON blikja, turn pale: see BLEACH] 1. any atmospheric or soil condition, parasite, or insect that kills, withers, or checks the growth of plants 2. any of …   English World dictionary

  • Blight — Blight, v. i. To be affected by blight; to blast; as, this vine never blights. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Blight — Blight, n. 1. Mildew; decay; anything nipping or blasting; applied as a general name to various injuries or diseases of plants, causing the whole or a part to wither, whether occasioned by insects, fungi, or atmospheric influences. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • blight — blīt n Austral an inflammation of the eye in which the eyelids discharge a thick mucous substance that often seals them up for days and minute granular pustules develop inside the lid called also sandy blight …   Medical dictionary

  • blight — n blast, nip (see under BLAST vb) Analogous words: *injury, damage, hurt, harm: frustration, thwarting (see corresponding verbs at FRUSTRATE) blight vb *blast, nip Analogous words: *injure, damage, hurt, harm, s …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • blight — [n] disease; plague affliction, bane, blot on the landscape*, canker, contamination, corruption, curse, decay, dump, evil, eyesore, fungus, infestation, mildew, pest, pestilence, pollution, rot, scourge, sight, withering, woe; concepts 306,674… …   New thesaurus

  • blight — ► NOUN 1) a plant disease, especially one caused by fungi. 2) a thing that spoils or damages something. 3) ugly or neglected urban landscape. ► VERB 1) infect (plants) with blight. 2) spoil or destroy. ORIGIN …   English terms dictionary

  • blight|ed — «BLY tihd», adjective. afflicted with blight; blasted: »A blighted spring makes a barren year (Samuel Johnson). Figurative. A blighted area is a district of a city that is on the way toward becoming a slum (Emory S. Bogardus) …   Useful english dictionary

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