blanch definition | Dictionary.com

Synonyms of blanch

bleach, etiolate, wan, argent, chalk, fade, lighten, pale, recoil, whiten, whitewash, wince

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blanch

12 dictionary results for: blanch

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

blanch1

[blanch, blahnch] Pronunciation Key

–verb (used with object)

1.	to whiten by removing color; bleach: Workers were blanching linen in the sun.

Cookery.

a.	to scald briefly and then drain, as peaches or almonds to facilitate removal of skins, or as rice or macaroni to separate the grains or strands.

b.	to scald or parboil (meat or vegetables) so as to whiten, remove the odor, prepare for cooking by other means, etc.

3.	Horticulture. (of the stems or leaves of plants, as celery or lettuce) to whiten or prevent from becoming green by excluding light.

Metallurgy.

a.	to give a white luster to (metals), as by means of acids.

b.	to coat (sheet metal) with tin.

5.	to make pale, as with sickness or fear: The long illness had blanched her cheeks of their natural color.

–verb (used without object)

6.	to become white; turn pale: The very thought of going made him blanch.

[Origin: 1300–50; ME bla(u)nchen < AF, MF blanchir to whiten, deriv. of blanc, blanche white; see blank

]

—Related forms

blancher, noun

—Synonyms 1. See whiten.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

blanch2

[blanch, blahnch] Pronunciation Key

–verb (used with object)

to force back or to one side; head off, as a deer or other quarry.

[Origin: 1565–75; var. of blench¹

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

blanch   (blānch) Pronunciation Key
v.   blanched also blenched, blanch·ing also blench·ing, blanch·es also blench·es

v.   tr.

To take the color from; bleach.
To whiten (a growing plant or plant part) by covering to cut off direct light.
To whiten (a metal) by soaking in acid or by coating with tin.
1. To scald (almonds, for example) in order to loosen the skin.
2. To scald (food) briefly, as before freezing or as a preliminary stage in preparing a dish.
To cause to turn white or become pale.

v. intr.
To turn white or become pale: Their faces blanched in terror.

[Middle English blaunchen, to make white, from Old French blanchir, from blanche, feminine of blanc, white, of Germanic origin; see bhel-¹ in Indo-European roots.]

blanch'er n.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
blanch (1)

1398, from O.Fr. blanchir "to whiten," from blanc "white" (see blank). Originally "to remove the hull of (almonds, etc.) by soaking." Intrans. sense of "to turn white" is from 1768.

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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
blanch (2)

"to start back, turn aside," 1572, variant of blench (q.v.).

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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

blanch
verb
1.	turn pale, as if in fear [syn: pale]
2.	cook (vegetables) briefly; "Parboil the beans before freezing them"

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U.S. Gazetteer - Cite This Source - Share This

Blanch, NC Zip code(s): 27212

U.S. Gazetteer, U.S. Census Bureau

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Blanch

Blanch\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Blanched; p. pr. & vb. n. Blanching.] [OE. blanchen, blaunchen, F. blanchir, fr. blanc white. See Blank, a.]

1. To take the color out of, and make white; to bleach; as, to blanch linen; age has blanched his hair.

2. (Gardening) To bleach by excluding the light, as the stalks or leaves of plants, by earthing them up or tying them together.

3. (Confectionery & Cookery) (a) To make white by removing the skin of, as by scalding; as, to blanch almonds. (b) To whiten, as the surface of meat, by plunging into boiling water and afterwards into cold, so as to harden the surface and retain the juices.

4. To give a white luster to (silver, before stamping, in the process of coining.).

5. To cover (sheet iron) with a coating of tin.

6. Fig.: To whiten; to give a favorable appearance to; to whitewash; to palliate.

Blanch over the blackest and most absurd things. --Tillotson.

Syn: To Blanch, Whiten.

Usage: To whiten is the generic term, denoting, to render white; as, to whiten the walls of a room. Usually (though not of necessity) this is supposed to be done by placing some white coloring matter in or upon the surface of the object in question. To blanch is to whiten by the removal of coloring matter; as, to blanch linen. So the cheek is blanched by fear, i. e., by the withdrawal of the blood, which leaves it white.

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Blanch

Blanch\, v. i. To grow or become white; as, his cheek blanched with fear; the rose blanches in the sun.

[Bones] blanching on the grass. --Tennyson.

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Blanch

Blanch\, v. t. [See Blench.]

1. To avoid, as from fear; to evade; to leave unnoticed. [Obs.]

Ifs and ands to qualify the words of treason, whereby every man might express his malice and blanch his danger. --Bacon.

I suppose you will not blanch Paris in your way. --Reliq. Wot.