*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of blain

From Middle English blein, from Old English bleġen, bleġene, from Proto-Germanic *blajinǭ, *blajjinǭ, perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- (“to swell up”). Cognate with West Frisian blein (“blain”), Dutch blein, blegn

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
noun

skin swelling or sore; blister; blotch.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English blein, from Old English bleġen, bleġene, from Proto-Germanic *blajinǭ, *blajjinǭ, perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- (“to swell up”). Cognate with West Frisian blein (“blain”), Dutch blein, blegn (“blain”), Middle Low German bleine (“blain”). Related also to dialectal Norwegian bleime (“blister”), Old Swedish blēma (“blister”), French bleime (“an inflammation of a horse's hoof”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Inherited-form mentionbleinenm
  • Inherited-form mentionbleġenang
  • Inherited-form mention*blajinǭgem-pro
  • Derivation mention*bʰel-ine-pro · to swell up
  • Cognate mentionbleinfy · blain
  • Cognate mentionbleinnl
  • Cognate mentionbleinegml · blain
  • Cognate mentionbleimeno · blister
  • Cognate mentionblēmagmq-osw · blister
  • Cognate mentionbleimefr · an inflammation of a horse's hoof
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "blein"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English blein"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "bleġen"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English bleġen"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*blajinǭ"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *blajinǭ"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*bʰel-",
        "t": "to swell up"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- (“to swell up”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fy",
        "2": "blein",
        "t": "blain"
      },
      "expansion": "West Frisian blein (“blain”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "blein"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch blein"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "gml",
        "2": "bleine",
        "t": "blain"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle Low German bleine (“blain”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "no",
        "2": "bleime",
        "t": "blister"
      },
      "expansion": "Norwegian bleime (“blister”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "gmq-osw",
        "2": "blēma",
        "t": "blister"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Swedish blēma (“blister”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fr",
        "2": "bleime",
        "t": "an inflammation of a horse's hoof"
      },
      "expansion": "French bleime (“an inflammation of a horse's hoof”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "blein",
      "blein#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "bleġen",
      "blegen#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "bleġene",
      "blegene#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*blajinǭ",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/blajinǭ"
    ],
    [
      "*blajjinǭ",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/blajjinǭ"
    ],
    [
      "*bʰel-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/bʰel-"
    ],
    [
      "blein",
      "blein#West_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "blein",
      "blein#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "blegn",
      "blegn#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "bleine",
      "bleine#Middle_Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "bleime",
      "bleime#Norwegian"
    ],
    [
      "blēma",
      "blema#Old_Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "bleime",
      "bleime#French"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "skin swelling or sore; blister; blotch."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "7b89f57a78c5fd8a23e68d4f04f07782a3333d74e8ce302d0342c603611312a3",
      "rawRecordSha256": "4c630dc5ff3daa688b775c1d6858cdc2b6d6a7896b62e0f3d596c66430c2ba3c",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 1477124
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for blain →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-YmxhaW4