bland

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See also: Bland and blând

English

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /blænd/
  • Rhymes: -ænd
  • Audio (CA)(file)

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Latin blandus (“pleasant, flattering”).

Adjective

bland (comparative blander, superlative blandest)

  1. Having a soothing effect; not irritating or stimulating.
    a bland oil
    a bland diet
  2. Lacking in taste or flavor.
    Synonyms: flat, tasteless, wallow; see also Thesaurus:insipid
    The coffee was bland.
  3. Lacking in vigor.
    • 2012, John Shepherd, David Horn, Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World:
      First and foremost, alternative country artists generally claim to reject mainstream country music as musically indistinguishable from bland pop music, as lyrically superficial, and as having no artistic merit […]
  4. (figurative) Lacking interest; boring; dull.
    Synonyms: lackluster, wan; see also Thesaurus:boring, Thesaurus:dim
    bland comment
    • 1996, “Country House”, in The Great Escape, performed by Blur:
      He's reading Balzac and knocking back Prozac / It's a helping hand that makes you feel wonderfully bland
  5. (now rare) Mild; soft, gentle, balmy; smooth in manner; suave.
    • 1818, John Keats, Sonnet:
      Where didst thou find, young Bard, thy sounding lyre? / Where the bland accent, and the tender tone?
    • 1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter IX, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:
      “A tight little craft,” was Austin’s invariable comment on the matron; […]. ¶ Near her wandered her husband, orientally bland, invariably affable, and from time to time squinting sideways, as usual, in the ever-renewed expectation that he might catch a glimpse of his stiff, retroussé moustache.
Derived terms
Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English blanden, blonden, from Old English blandan (“to blend, mix, mingle; trouble, disturb, corrupt”), from Proto-Germanic *blandaną (“to mix, blend”). Cognate with Icelandic blanda, Norwegian, Danish blande, Swedish blanda. See also blend.

Verb

bland (third-person singular simple present blands, present participle blanding, simple past and past participle blanded)

  1. (transitive, UK dialectal) To mix; blend; mingle.
  2. (transitive, UK dialectal) To connect; associate.

Etymology 3

From Middle English bland, from Old English bland, blond (“blending, mixture, confusion”), from Proto-Germanic *blandą (“a mixing, mixture”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰlendʰ- (“to grow turbid, dim, see badly, be blind”). Cognate with Icelandic blanda (“a mixture of liquids, especially of hot whey and water”).

Alternative forms

Noun

bland (countable and uncountable, plural blands)

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia
  1. (UK dialectal) Mixture; union.
  2. A summer beverage prepared from the whey of churned milk, common among the inhabitants of the Shetland Islands.
    Hypernym: fermented milk product
    Coordinate terms: kefir, koumiss
Derived terms

References

Danish

Verb

bland

  1. imperative of blande

German

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin blandus.

Pronunciation

Adjective

bland (strong nominative masculine singular blander, not comparable)

  1. (medicine) bland

Declension

Positive forms of bland (uncomparable)
number & gender singular plural
masculine feminine neuter
predicative er ist bland sie ist bland es ist bland sie sind bland
strong declension
(without article) 		nominative blander blande blandes blande
genitive blanden blander blanden blander
dative blandem blander blandem blanden
accusative blanden blande blandes blande
weak declension
(with definite article) 		nominative der blande die blande das blande die blanden
genitive des blanden der blanden des blanden der blanden
dative dem blanden der blanden dem blanden den blanden
accusative den blanden die blande das blande die blanden
mixed declension
(with indefinite article) 		nominative ein blander eine blande ein blandes (keine) blanden
genitive eines blanden einer blanden eines blanden (keiner) blanden
dative einem blanden einer blanden einem blanden (keinen) blanden
accusative einen blanden eine blande ein blandes (keine) blanden

Further reading

  • “bland” in Duden online
  • “bland” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

Icelandic

Pronunciation

Noun

bland n (genitive singular blands, no plural)

  1. mix

Declension

declension of bland
n-s singular
indefinite definite
nominative bland blandið
accusative bland blandið
dative blandi blandinu
genitive blands blandsins

Derived terms

Related terms

Norwegian Bokmål

Verb

bland

  1. imperative of blande

Norwegian Nynorsk

Verb

bland

  1. imperative of blande

Swedish

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

Preposition

bland

  1. among

Derived terms

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