blandish

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English

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Etymology

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From Middle English blaundishen (to flatter; to fawn; to be enticing or persuasive; to be favourable; of the sea: to become calm) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman blaundishen,[1] from blandiss-, the extended stem of Middle French blandir + Middle English -ishen (suffix forming verbs).[2] Blandir is derived from Latin blandīrī, the present active infinitive of blandior (to fawn, flatter; to delude), from blandus (fawning, flattering, smooth, suave; persuasive; alluring, enticing, seductive; agreeable, pleasant) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)mel- (erroneous, false; bad, evil)) + -iō (suffix forming causative verbs from adjectives).[3] The English word is analysable as bland +‎ -ish; compare bland (agreeable, pleasant, suave; mild, soothing).

Pronunciation

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Verb

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blandish (third-person singular simple present blandishes, present participle blandishing, simple past and past participle blandished)

  1. (transitive) To persuade someone by using flattery; to cajole.
  2. (transitive) To praise someone dishonestly; to flatter or butter up.

Derived terms

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Translations

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References

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  1. ^ blaundishen, v.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
  2. ^ -ish(e(n, suf.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
  3. ^ blandish, v.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, 1887; blandish, v.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.