I. ˈblaŋkə̇t, -aiŋ-, usu -ə̇d.+V noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from Old French blanqete, from blanc white + -et (diminutive suffix) — more at blank
1.
a. archaic : a white or undyed woolen cloth
b. : a cloth woven with samples of various designs usually used as a display sample or for experimental purposes
c. or blanket cloth
(1) : a heavy reversible cotton fabric often with jacquard figures and usually with a dense nap used for blankets and clothing (as bathrobes)
(2) : a similar woolen cloth in solid colors used for coats
2. : a sheet of fabric adapted to a particular purpose: as
a. : a piece of warm fabric for use as a bed covering being of wool, cotton, or synthetic yarns and usually oblong and napped on both sides — compare quilt , robe , sheet
b. : a similar piece of fabric used as a body covering (as for a horse or dog) or among certain primitive peoples as a cloak
c. : a band of fabric running beneath the cloth in a cloth-printing machine and forming the covering of a slasher cylinder
d.
(1) : a heavy cloth used to catch fine gold or valuable minerals (as in blanket sluices or on concentrating tables
(2) : the permeable cloth sheet or membrane used in flotation cells in ore dressing
e.
(1) : a sheet of wool, felt, or rubber in the packing of an impression cylinder to soften the impression or reduce makeready in printing
(2) : a rubber sheet in an offset press that receives the inked impression from the plate and transfers it to the surface being printed
3. : a covering layer or sheet
a blanket of clouds
the still-white snow blanket
as
a. : a covering (as of sauce, chopped vegetable, bacon) on a service of food (as of meat or fish)
a thick blanket of glutinous cream sauce
b. : a thin surface formed by one or more coats of bituminous material on a roadway
c. : a thin widespread geologic deposit
a blanket ore deposit
an alluvial blanket
— compare tabular
d. : a streak or layer of blubber in whales
e. : a floral display for a funeral designed to be spread over the coffin like a bed blanket
f. : a layer of a fire-extinguishing agent (as foam or gas) spread over a burning surface in order to smother the fire
g. : a layer of less active material surrounding the highly reactive core of an atomic reactor
h. : insulating or shock-absorbing material formed into batts or sheets for ease of application
4. : a large pelt ; especially : a beaver pelt of the largest market size
5. : something that covers and encloses
a blanket of gloom descended on us
or serves to guard, isolate, and protect
the airfield was under security blankets
the vast Civil Service blankets which Presidents Roosevelt and Truman threw over Federal personnel — Arthur Krock
II. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
1. : to cover with or as if with a blanket
new green grass blanketing the slopes
designed to blanket the Iron Curtain countries and other critical areas with powerful standard broadcasts — New York Times
2. archaic : to toss in a blanket (as by way of punishment)
3. : to cover so as to obscure, interrupt, suppress, or extinguish: as
a. : to cover (food) with a blanket
b. : to interfere with or stop (the fire of friendly forces) by coming into the line of fire or interposing friendly forces in the line of fire
c. : to make (radio receiving sets) ineffective by powerful signals or interference
d. : to take the wind out of the sails of by sailing to windward of (another ship)
e. : to control or extinguish (a fire) by means of a foam or gas blanket
f. : exclude , eliminate — usually used with out
using an inert gas to blanket out corrosive fumes
4.
a. : to cover or apply to uniformly despite wide separation or diversity among the elements included
legislation blanketing subversive acts
freight rates that blanket a region
b. : to cause to belong : cause to be included — often used with into or in
every area … had automatically been blanketed into the San Jose Unified School District — Fortnight
will result in blanketing additional millions into the old-age pension system
III. adjective
1.
a. : including or covering a group or class without any individual apportionment
blanket insurance coverage
a blanket wage increase
b. : effective or applicable in all instances or contingencies
a blanket price
blanket rules
a blanket complaint
2.
a. : of, relating to, or suggestive of a blanket
b. : having contestants extremely close together — used of the finish of a race
3. : consisting of one or more large sheets of newsprint folded once to make four pages each — often used in distinguishing the modern large newspaper from the tabloid