blind

Etymology

From Middle English blynd, from Old English blind, from Proto-West Germanic *blind, from Proto-Germanic *blindaz.

adj

1. (not comparable) Unable to see, due to physiological or neurological factors.
   Even a blind hen sometimes finds a grain of corn.
   Braille is a writing system for the blind.
   his blind eye
2. (comparable) Failing to see, acknowledge, perceive.
   The lovers were blind to each other's faults.
   Authors are blind to their own defects.
3. (not comparable) Of a place, having little or no visibility.
   a blind path
   a blind ditch
   a blind corner
4. (not comparable) Closed at one end; having a dead end; exitless.
   a blind alley
   a blind fistula
   a blind gut
   The naric-hypophysial canal was blind at both ends, and paired olfactory sacs opened into it, as well as a narrow canal from the front of the gut. 1898, Journal of the Royal Microscopical Society, page 498
   North Richmond street, being blind, was a quiet street except at the hour when the Christian Brothers' School set the boys free. 1914, James Joyce, Araby
5. (not comparable) Having no openings for light or passage; both dark and exitless.
   a blind wall
   a blind alley
6. (in certain phrases, chiefly in the negative) Smallest or slightest.
   I shouted, but he didn't take a blind bit of notice.
   We pulled and pulled, but it didn't make a blind bit of difference.
7. (not comparable) Without any prior knowledge.
   He took a blind guess at which fork in the road would take him to the airport.
   I went into the meeting totally blind, so I really didn't have a clue what I was talking about.
8. (not comparable) Unconditional; without regard to evidence, logic, reality, accidental mistakes, extenuating circumstances, etc.
   blind deference
   blind justice
   blind punishment
   1787–1788, John Jay, The Federalist Papers This plan is recommended neither to blind approbation nor to blind reprobation.
9. (sciences) Using blinded study design, wherein information is purposely limited to prevent bias.
   a blind trial
10. Unintelligible or illegible.
    a blind passage in a book; blind writing
11. (horticulture) Abortive; failing to produce flowers or fruit.
    blind buds
    blind flowers
12. (LGBT, slang) Uncircumcised

noun

1. A movable covering for a window to keep out light, made of cloth or of narrow slats that can block light or allow it to pass.
   A blind bearing the monogram G.V.T. is pulled down over the waiting room window as if still in mourning for the passing of the railway. 1941 June, “Notes and News: The Derelict Glyn Valley Tramway”, in Railway Magazine, page 279
   Light filtered in through the blinds of the french windows. It made tremulous stripes along the scrubbed pine floor. 1956, Delano Ames, chapter 12, in Crime out of Mind
2. A destination sign mounted on a public transport vehicle displaying the route destination, number, name and/or via points, etc.
3. Any device intended to conceal or hide.
   a duck blind
4. Something to mislead the eye or the understanding, or to conceal some covert deed or design; a subterfuge.
5. (military) A blindage.
6. A hiding place.
7. (rugby, colloquial) The blindside.
8. (baseball, slang, 1800s) No score.
9. (poker) A forced bet: the small blind or the big blind.
   The blinds are $10 and $20, and the ante is $1.
10. (poker) A player who is forced to pay such a bet.
    The blinds immediately folded when I reraised.

verb

1. (transitive) To make temporarily or permanently blind.
   The light was so bright that for a moment he was blinded.
   Don't wave that pencil in my face - do you want to blind me?
   A blind guide is certainly a great mischief; but a guide that blinds those whom he should lead is […] a much greater. May 9, 1686 (date of preaching), Robert South, The Fatal Imposture and Force of Words (sermon)
2. (slang, obsolete) To curse.
   If you're cast for fatigue by a sergeant unkind, Don't grouse like a woman, nor crack on, nor blind; Be handy and civil, and then you will find That it's beer for the young British soldier. 1890, Rudyard Kipling, The Young British Soldier
3. To darken; to obscure to the eye or understanding; to conceal.
   The state of the controversy between us he endeavored, with all his art, to blind and confound. 1676, Edward Stillingfleet, A Defence of the Discourse Concerning the Idolatry Practised in the Church of Rome
4. To cover with a thin coating of sand and fine gravel, for example a road newly paved, in order that the joints between the stones may be filled.

adv

1. Without seeing; unseeingly.
2. (colloquial) Absolutely, totally.
   to swear blind
3. (poker, three card brag) Without looking at the cards dealt.
4. (cooking, especially in combination with 'bake') As a pastry case only, without any filling.
   Blind bake your pie case for fifteen minutes, then add the filling. This will help avoid a "soggy bottom".
   If the shell is going to be baked without a filling, “baking the crust blind,” prick the bottom and sides of the crust to allow the steam to escape. Another variation: line the bottom of the crust with parchment paper […] 2012, Frank D. Conforti, Food Selection and Preparation: A Laboratory Manual, John Wiley & Sons, page 63
   PIE WEIGHTS: When you are baking a crust blind, which means when you are partially or fully baking it without filling (see blind-baking, page 474), you need something to keep the crust from puffing up: weights. 2013, Dorie Greenspan, Baking: From My Home to Yours, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, page 490