blanket
noun
- type of bedding
verb
- cover heavily
adjective
No English definition recorded for this entry.
L334897 on Wikidata ↗Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈblæŋ.kɪt/ / [ˈblæŋ.kʰɪt] / /ˈbleɪ̯ŋ.kɪt/
adj
Etymology: Inherited from Middle English blanket, blonket, blaunket, from Old Northern French blanket, blancet (“white horse", also "white woollen cloth or flannel; a type of jacket”, literally “that which is white”) (whence Modern French blanchet), diminutive of blanc (“white”), of Germanic origin (compare Old English blanca (“white horse”); see more at blank). Furthermore, the sense "white woollen cloth" is likely a calque of Old English hwītel (“blanket; cloak, mantle”), from Old English hwīt (“white”) + -el (diminutive suffix). Compare also Old Norse hvítill (“a white bed-cover, sheet”), Norwegian kvitel (“blanket”). Compare also blunket, plunket. Displaced native Middle English whytel, from Old English hwītel (whence Modern English whittle (“blanket, cloak, shawl”)).
- General; covering or encompassing everything.
“Another observer offered a less blanket criticism.”
“Some others appear to be adopting a more blanket approach”
noun
Etymology: Inherited from Middle English blanket, blonket, blaunket, from Old Northern French blanket, blancet (“white horse", also "white woollen cloth or flannel; a type of jacket”, literally “that which is white”) (whence Modern French blanchet), diminutive of blanc (“white”), of Germanic origin (compare Old English blanca (“white horse”); see more at blank). Furthermore, the sense "white woollen cloth" is likely a calque of Old English hwītel (“blanket; cloak, mantle”), from Old English hwīt (“white”) + -el (diminutive suffix). Compare also Old Norse hvítill (“a white bed-cover, sheet”), Norwegian kvitel (“blanket”). Compare also blunket, plunket. Displaced native Middle English whytel, from Old English hwītel (whence Modern English whittle (“blanket, cloak, shawl”)).
- A heavy, loosely woven fabric, usually large and woollen, used for warmth while sleeping or resting.
“The baby was cold, so his mother put a blanket over him.”
“The little boys in the front bedroom had thrown off their blankets and lay under the sheets.”
- A covering layer of anything.
“The city woke under a thick blanket of fog.”
“In this case, the excavations were carried down to a depth of 3 ft. 9 in. below rail level, and pre-cast concrete slabs were laid between a 12 in. blanket of quarry waste and the ballast.”
- A thick rubber mat used in the offset printing process to transfer ink from the plate to the paper being printed.
“A press operator must carefully wash the blanket whenever changing a plate.”
- A streak or layer of blubber in whales.
verb
Etymology: Inherited from Middle English blanket, blonket, blaunket, from Old Northern French blanket, blancet (“white horse", also "white woollen cloth or flannel; a type of jacket”, literally “that which is white”) (whence Modern French blanchet), diminutive of blanc (“white”), of Germanic origin (compare Old English blanca (“white horse”); see more at blank). Furthermore, the sense "white woollen cloth" is likely a calque of Old English hwītel (“blanket; cloak, mantle”), from Old English hwīt (“white”) + -el (diminutive suffix). Compare also Old Norse hvítill (“a white bed-cover, sheet”), Norwegian kvitel (“blanket”). Compare also blunket, plunket. Displaced native Middle English whytel, from Old English hwītel (whence Modern English whittle (“blanket, cloak, shawl”)).
- To cover with, or as if with, a blanket.
“A fresh layer of snow blanketed the area.”
“[…] / I will preſerue my ſelfe, and am bethought / To take the baſeſt and moſt pooreſt ſhape, / That euer penury in contempt of man, / Brought neare to beaſt, my face ile grime with filth, / Blanket my loynes, elſe all my haire with knots, / And with preſented nakedness outface, / The wind, and perſecution of the skie, / […]”
- To traverse or complete thoroughly.
“The salesman blanketed the entire neighborhood.”
- To toss in a blanket by way of punishment.
“Hang him, poore grogran-raſcall, pray thee thinke not of him: I’le ſend for him to my lodging, and haue him blanketted when thou wilt, man.”
“Wee'll haue our men blanket 'hem i' the hall.”
- To take the wind out of the sails of (another vessel) by sailing to windward of it.
- To nullify the impact of (someone or something).
- Of a radio signal: to override or block out another radio signal.