bland

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Latin blandus (“pleasant, flattering”).

adj

1. Having a soothing effect; not irritating or stimulating.
   a bland oil
   a bland diet
2. Lacking in taste or flavor.
   The coffee was bland.
3. Lacking in vigor.
   First and foremost, alternative country artists generally claim to reject mainstream country music as musically indistinguishable from bland pop music, as lyrically superficial, and as having no artistic merit […] 2012, John Shepherd, David Horn, Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World
4. (figurative) Lacking interest; boring; dull.
   bland comment
   He's reading Balzac and knocking back Prozac / It's a helping hand that makes you feel wonderfully bland 1996, “Country House”, in The Great Escape, performed by Blur
5. (now rare) Mild; soft, gentle, balmy; smooth in manner; suave.
   Where didst thou find, young Bard, thy sounding lyre? / Where the bland accent, and the tender tone? 1818, John Keats, Sonnet

Etymology 2

From Middle English blanden, blonden, from Old English blandan (“to blend, mix, mingle; trouble, disturb, corrupt”), from Proto-Germanic *blandaną (“to mix, blend”). Cognate with Icelandic blanda, Norwegian, Danish blande, Swedish blanda. See also blend.

verb

1. (transitive, UK dialectal) To mix; blend; mingle.
2. (transitive, UK dialectal) To connect; associate.

Etymology 3

From Middle English bland, from Old English bland, blond (“blending, mixture, confusion”), from Proto-Germanic *blandą (“a mixing, mixture”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰlendʰ- (“to grow turbid, dim, see badly, be blind”). Cognate with Icelandic blanda (“a mixture of liquids, especially of hot whey and water”).

noun

1. (UK dialectal) Mixture; union.
2. A summer beverage prepared from the whey of churned milk, common among the inhabitants of the Shetland Islands.