I. ˈblü adjective
( usually -er/-est )
Etymology: Middle English bleu, blew, from Old French blo, blou, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German blāo blue, Old Norse blār dark blue, livid; akin to Latin flavus yellow, Old English bǣl fire, pyre — more at bald
1.
a. : of the color blue
blue violets
as blue as a sapphire
b. : having the color of the clear sky or the deep sea
the blue firmament
the blue ocean
2.
a. : tinged with blue : bluish
the blue haze of tobacco smoke
blue as a vein
the blue mountains
the milk was blue
the candle burned blue
blue lightning
b. of the skin : livid especially with cold or from a blow
a face blue from the damp — T.B.Costain
c. of the coat of an animal : bluish gray
a short-haired blue cat
3.
a. : low in spirits : melancholy , depressed
she was blue and lonesome and half sick — J.B.Benefield
b. : productive of low spirits : unpromising , depressing
things looked blue for them
4.
a. : wearing blue
the painting is called “The Blue Boy”
b. : having blue as a distinguishing color
the blue team defeated the red team
c. : of or relating to a blue lodge of Freemasons
blue Masonry
5. of a woman : really or affectedly learned : intellectual
the ladies were very blue and well-informed — W.M.Thackeray
6. : characterized by or derived from rigid morals : puritanical
a blue Sunday city by local option — James Street
7.
a. : characterized by indecency or obscenity : off-color , risqué
the same joke each time — and a bit bluer than anything Charlie had ever heard before in mixed company — J.B.Priestley
b. : characterized by or filled with cursing and swearing : profane
blue language
shop owners turned the air blue at a mass meeting — Time
8. : extreme , complete — used as an intensive
the very name … put her in a blue fear — R.L.Stevenson
9. : relating to, suggesting, or suited to blues singing or playing
blue- voiced
a blue song
•
- blue in the face
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English bleu, blew, from bleu, blew, adjective
1.
a. : a color whose hue is that of the clear sky or that of the portion of the color spectrum lying between green and violet
b. : the one of the four psychologically primary hues that is evoked in the average normal observer under normal conditions by radiant energy of the wavelength 475 millimicrons
c. : one of the six psychologically primary object colors
2.
a. : any of certain varieties of gray having a bluish appearance — used especially of pelage or plumage colors in dogs, cats, and poultry
b. : an animal having a coat of such a blue
3.
a. : a pigment or dye that colors blue
b. : bluing 2
4.
a. : blue clothing or cloth
the boys in blue
b. : one wearing blue or belonging to an organization or party whose uniform or badge is blue
next time you see the blue ashore — Rudyard Kipling
5.
a.
(1) : sky
boomerangs that were once hurled into the blue — A.J.Toynbee
(2) : the far distance : space
chuck up Seville and go off somewhere into the blue — William Sansom
b. : sea , ocean
the Marianas were right out in the blue — Fletcher Pratt
6. : an object that is blue in color or that belongs to a group whose characteristic color is blue
pieces of Nanking blue
the poker player bought a stack of blues
7.
[by shortening]
: bluestocking
8.
a. : a student who represents Oxford or Cambridge University in athletic contests and is awarded the right to wear the university color
was an Oxford blue in cricket
b. : the right to wear such a university color
won his blue in tennis at Cambridge
9. : any of numerous small chiefly blue butterflies of the family Lycaenidae
10.
a. : the blue third circle of an archery target
b. : a shot that hits such a circle
11. : first place or first prize : blue ribbon
won the blue at the horse show
12. : blue cheese
13. Australia : an argument or fight
he got mixed up in a blue
•
- out of the blue
III. verb
( blued ; blued ; blueing or bluing ; blues )
Etymology: blue (I)
transitive verb
1. : to make blue in color: as
a. : to dye or paint blue
b. : to apply bluing to
c. : to make blue (as steel, rifle barrels, or razor blades) by heating in air, steam, or appropriate chemicals — see blue heat
2. slang Britain : to spend lavishly or wastefully : squander
while they've got money they blue it — Ngaio Marsh
intransitive verb
: to turn blue