Etymology
The interpretation of the hapax v. in
Pat 272 ('til he blunt in a blok as brod as a halle') is debated. (1) It has been plausibly connected with OIcel
blunda 'to have one's eyes shut, doze' (thus
OED, McGillivray and with reservations Bateson and GollPat) (see also
blunt (adj.) as well), although the identification is speculative. As McGillivray (272n) notes in support of the borrowing, the better attested ME v.
blonderen 'go blindly, erratically, etc.' is usually referred to the same source;
MED compares further Norw and Sw dial
blundra 'act blindly or rashly'. (2) Alternatively,
MED (followed by Vant) suggests ME
blinnen (with trans. and intrans. senses) from OE
blinnan 'cease, leave off, rest from' (formed on PGmc
*linnan, cp. Go
af-linnan 'leave off', OHG
bi-linnan 'stop, end') as a possible alternative. This provides a satisfactory sense, but the v. is st. in OE and ME. Anderson (AndPat 272n) instead identifies it as a past tense form of the uncommon ME v.
blonten which is otherwise only attested with the meaning 'make or become blunt', and hypothesizes a sense development to 'stop, fetch up' through an intermediate 'crush'. This v. is formed on the ME adj.
blont, itself of uncertain origin (with both the ON v. represented by OIcel
blunda and OE
blinnan among the suggested etyma; see further
OED blunt (adj. and n. 1) and
MED blont (adj.)).
PGmc Ancestor
(2) *linnan-
Proposed ON Etymon (OIcel representative)
(1) blunda 'to have one's eyes shut, doze'
(ONP (1) blunda (vb.))
Other Scandinavian Reflexes
(1) Far blunda, Icel blunda, Norw blund(r)a, ODan blunde, Dan blunde, OSw blund(r)a
OE Cognate
Phonological and morphological markers
Summary category
DD2