Word: blue Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English blew, blewe, from Anglo-Norman blew, from Middle French bleu, from Old French blöe, bleve, blef (“blue”), from Frankish *blāu (“blue”) (perhaps through a Late Latin blāvus, blāvius (“blue”) attested from Isidore of Seville), from Proto-Germanic *blēwaz (“blue, dark blue”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰlēw- (“yellow, blond, grey”). Cognate with dialectal English blow (“blue”), Scots blue, blew (“blue”), North Frisian bla, blö (“blue”), Saterland Frisian blau (“blue”), Dutch blauw (“blue”), German blau (“blue”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish blå (“blue”), Faroese bláur (“blue”), Icelandic blár (“blue”), Latin flāvus (“yellow”), French bleu (“blue”), Middle Irish blá (“yellow”). Doublet of blow. Possibly related also to English blee (“colour”), from Old English blēo (“colour”); but direct derivatives of Proto-Germanic *blēwaz (“blue, dark blue”) in Old English include: Old English blāw and blēo (“blue”), Old English blǣwen (“bluish, light-blue”), blǣhǣwen (“blue-coloured, bluish, violet or purple colour”, literally “blue-hued”). There seems to be a parallel connection in Germanic between words for blue and colour, dually exemplified by Proto-West Germanic *blīu (“colour, blee”) and *blāu (“blue”); and Proto-Germanic *hiwją (“colour, hue”) and *hāwī (“blue, purple”). (depressed): Compare typologically Russian тоска́ зелёная (toská zeljónaja) (<+ зелёный (zeljónyj)). Also compare фиоле́тово (fiolétovo). Pronunciation: /bluː/, /blʉ/, /bljuː/ 1. The colour of the clear sky or the deep sea; the colour midway between green and violet in the visible spectrum and one of the primary additive colours. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: Lady Penrhyn was quite handsome enough to have spared one ingredient in her cup of fascination, but, unfortunately, having been married in her teens, she expected to live in them, and, never being reminded by the trials to which her sex is subject, of the flight of years, and the inroads of suffering, expected time to stand still, and the first bloom of existence (the blue on the plum) to remain as stationary as her own taste, for the pleasures of flirtation. Example: She watches the yachts in the creamy evening blues. 2. Anything coloured blue, especially to distinguish it from similar objects differing only in colour. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: I don't like red Smarties. Have you got a blue? 3. A blue dye or pigment. Labels: countable, uncountable 4. Blue clothing. Labels: uncountable Example: The boys in blue marched to the pipers. 5. Blue clothing. Labels: countable, in-plural, uncountable 6. Blue clothing. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: Come on, you blues! 7. Blue clothing. Labels: countable, slang, uncountable Example: He was safe! Terrible call, blue! 8. Blue clothing. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: He excelled at rowing and received a blue in the sport at Oxford. 9. Blue clothing. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: He was a rugby blue at Cambridge. 10. Blue clothing. Labels: countable, slang, uncountable Example: He dialed Kathy to be sure she was okay and see if the blues arrived. She was crying when she picked up the phone. “Kathy, honey, I'm here. It'll be okay. Are the police there?” 11. Blue clothing. Labels: countable, historical, uncountable 12. The sky, literally or figuratively. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: The balloon floated up into the blue. Example: His request for leave came out of the blue. 13. The ocean; deep waters. Labels: countable, uncountable 14. The far distance; a remote or distant place. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: The problem with buffalo as well as most African antelopes as a steady diet is that they have very little marbling or body fat and, after six months out in the blue, one dreams at night of a T-bone steak sizzling in great globules of yellow fat. 15. A dog or cat with a slaty gray coat. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: On average, blues and other dilutes have weaker coats and skin problems seem more prevalent in the dilutes. 16. One of the colour balls used in snooker, with a value of five points. Labels: countable, uncountable 17. Any of the butterflies of the subfamily Polyommatinae in the family Lycaenidae, most of which have blue on their wings. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: The large and handsome spectre-butterfly, Hestia durvillei; the pale-winged peacock butterfly, Drusilla catops; and the most brilliant and wonderful of the clear-winged moths, Cocytia durvillei, were especially interesting, as well, as several little "blues," equalling in brilliancy and beauty anything the butterfly world can produce. 18. A bluefish. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: When snow falls on the roses, when a mako is beheaded, when the weaks and blues swim south Example: Blues are about as vicious a fish as you'll find on the Atlantic seaboard — they will continue to slash through schools of bait even after they have eaten so much that they're constantly regurgitating shredded baitfish. 19. An argument or brawl. Labels: Australia, colloquial, countable, uncountable Example: "I had a blue with Dad," said Fay. "He wanted to drive us, I wanted to walk." Example: 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. 20. A liquid with an intense blue colour, added to a laundry wash to prevent yellowing of white clothes. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: It was applied methodically, carefully, resolutely, as in the fashion of a Satin-bird with charcoal, desiccated wood or blue from laundry-bags. 21. Any of several processes to protect metal against rust. Labels: countable, uncountable 22. A type of firecracker. Labels: UK, countable, uncountable Example: Lord Lyttelton's Life by Dr Johnson […] which a whole tribe of Blues, with Mrs Montagu at their Head, have Vowed to execrate and revenge […] 23. One of the three colour charges for quarks. Labels: countable, particle, uncountable 24. A member or supporter of the Conservative Party. Labels: UK, countable, uncountable Example: He is a true blue. 25. A blue cheese. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: "No, just get over here. You need to try this one!" she exclaimed as she cheesed up a chunk of bread with one of our blues. Example: Blues are made via the introduction of molds from the genus Penicillum roqueforti, which are normally added to the milk toward the beginning of the cheesemaking process. 26. Risqué or pornographic material. Labels: slang, uncountable Example: Improvising freely, he entered the stage with a karaoke set and introduced himself as a 'Bohemian street performer', before launching into a series of clubstyle gags and one-liners, promising 'a bit of blue for the Dads'[…] Example: Fuzz grinned and nodded at the stage. 'Bit of blue for the lads.' […] The stage was dimly lit, and populated by Nubian slaves and harem girls in artfully draped deshabille.