blot 1
— blotless , adj. — blottingly , adv. — blotty , adj.
/blot/ , n. , v. , blotted, blotting .
n.
1. a spot or stain, esp. of ink on paper.
2. a blemish on a person's character or reputation: He had been haunted by a blot on his past.
3. Archaic. an erasure or obliteration, as in a writing.
v.t.
4. to spot, stain, soil, or the like.
5. to darken; make dim; obscure or eclipse (usually fol. by out ): We watched as the moon blotted out the sun.
6. to dry with absorbent paper or the like: to blot the wet pane.
7. to remove with absorbent paper or the like.
v.i.
8. to make a blot; spread ink, dye, etc., in a stain: The more slowly I write, the more this pen blots.
9. to become blotted or stained: This paper blots too easily.
10. Chem. to transfer an array of separated components of a mixture to a chemically treated paper for analysis. Cf. gel, gel electrophoresis .
11. blot out ,
a. to make indistinguishable; obliterate: to blot out a name from the record.
b. to wipe out completely; destroy: Whole cities were blotted out by bombs.
[ 1275-1325; (n.) ME blotte, akin to ON blettr blot, spot, stain; (v.) late ME blotten, deriv. of the n. ]
Syn. 1. blotch, ink stain. 2. stain, taint, dishonor, disgrace, spot. 4. sully, disfigure. 5. obliterate, efface, erase, expunge. 7. absorb.
blot 2
/blot/ , n.
1. Backgammon. an exposed piece liable to be taken or forfeited.
2. Archaic. an exposed or weak point, as in an argument or course of action.
[ 1590-1600; blat, akin to bloot bare, exposed, unprotected; c. D bloot, G bloss bare ]