Word: blade Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₃-der. Proto-Germanic *bladą Proto-West Germanic *blad Old English blæd Middle English bladder. Middle English blade English blade From Middle English blade, blad, from Old English blæd (“leaf”), from Proto-West Germanic *blad, from Proto-Germanic *bladą, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰl̥h₃-o-to-m, from *bʰleh₃- (“to thrive, bloom”). Cognate with West Frisian bled, German Blatt, Danish, Dutch, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish blad, Faroese and Icelandic blað, Irish bláth (“flower”), Welsh blodyn (“flower”), Tocharian A pält, Tocharian B pilta (“leaf”), Albanian fletë (“leaf”). Similar usage in German Sägeblatt (“saw blade”, literally “saw leaf”). Doublet of blat. More at blow. Pronunciation: /bleɪd/ 1. The (typically sharp-edged) part of a knife, sword, razor, or other tool with which it cuts. Example: Sword. — The blade is straight, tapers gradually, is 32 9/16 inches long from shoulder to point, and is fullered on both sides, commencing 2 inches from the shoulder, to about 17 inches from the point, to a thickness of ·035 inch. 2. The (typically sharp-edged) part of a knife, sword, razor, or other tool with which it cuts. Labels: metonymically Example: Paul: Give the Harkonnen a blade and let him stand forth. Shaddam IV: If Feyd wishes, he can meet you with my blade in his hand. 3. The (typically sharp-edged) part of a knife, sword, razor, or other tool with which it cuts. Labels: abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis 4. The flat functional end or piece of a propeller, oar, hockey stick, chisel, screwdriver, skate, etc. Example: Turbines have been around for a long time—windmills and water wheels are early examples. The name comes from the Latin turbo, meaning vortex, and thus the defining property of a turbine is that a fluid or gas turns the blades of a rotor, which is attached to a shaft that can perform useful work. 5. The narrow leaf of a grass or cereal. 6. The thin, flat part of a plant leaf, attached to a stem (petiole). 7. A flat bone, especially the shoulder blade. 8. A cut of beef from near the shoulder blade (part of the chuck). 9. The part of the tongue just behind the tip, used to make laminal consonants. 10. A piece of prepared, sharp-edged stone, often flint, at least twice as long as it is wide; a long flake of ground-edge stone or knapped vitreous stone. 11. A throw characterized by a tight parabolic trajectory due to a steep lateral attitude. 12. The rudder, daggerboard, or centerboard of a vessel. 13. A bulldozer or surface-grading machine with mechanically adjustable blade that is nominally perpendicular to the forward motion of the vehicle. 14. A dashing young man. Labels: dated Example: He saw a Turnkey in a trice / Unfetter a troublesome blade; Example: But very often blust'ring blades / Are Jerry Sneaks at home. 15. A homosexual, usually male. Labels: US, slang 16. An area of a city which is commonly known for prostitution. Labels: US, slang 17. Thin plate, foil. 18. One of a series of small plates that make up the aperture or the shutter of a camera. 19. The principal rafters of a roof. Labels: in-plural 20. The four large shell plates on the sides, and the five large ones of the middle, of the carapace of the sea turtle, which yield the best tortoise shell. 21. Ellipsis of blade server. Labels: abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis 22. Synonym of knifeblade. 23. An exterior product of vectors. (The product may have more than two factors. Also, a scalar counts as a 0-blade, a vector as a 1-blade; an exterior product of k vectors may be called a k-blade.) 24. The part of a key that is inserted into the lock. 25. An artificial foot used by amputee athletes, shaped like an upside-down question mark. Labels: informal 26. A cleat on a shoe, particularly one that is longer and thinner than a stud. Example: They were 'Adidas Flanker' rugby shoes with six front and two heel studs; 'Puma King Pro' with four front and two heel studs; two 'Blades' boots, namely 'Mudrunner', with six front blades and four-crossed heel blades[…] 27. A football boot equipped with blade-type cleats. Example: Bruce Barry, principal lecturer in biomechanics at the institute, says: "I was very sceptical at first, but when I tested them, there was no doubt about it - you could see the players were faster in blades." 28. The quality of singing with a pure, resonant sound; especially of a countertenor. Labels: uncountable Example: He wasn’t loud, but his voice had lots of blade.