I. ˈblät noun
Etymology: Middle English
Date: 14th century
1. : a soiling or disfiguring mark : spot
2. : a mark of reproach : moral flaw
3. : a usually nitrocellulose or nylon sheet that contains spots of immobilized macromolecules (as of DNA, RNA, or protein) or their fragments and is used to identify specific components of the spots by applying a molecular probe (as a complementary nucleic acid or a radio labeled antibody) — compare Southern blot , Western blot
II. verb
( blot·ted ; blot·ting )
Date: 15th century
transitive verb
1. : to spot, stain, or spatter with a discoloring substance
2. obsolete : mar ; especially : to stain with infamy
3.
a. : to dry (as writing) with an absorbing agent
b. : to remove with absorbing material
blotting up spilled water
intransitive verb
1. : to make a blot
2. : to become marked with a blot
III. noun
Etymology: perhaps from Dutch bloot naked, exposed, from Middle Dutch; akin to Middle High German bloz bare
Date: 1595
1. : a lone backgammon man exposed to capture
2. archaic : a weak or exposed point