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bleak - 8 dictionary results
bleak
1
[bleek] 
–adjective, -er, -est.
| 1. | bare, desolate, and often windswept: a bleak plain. |
| 2. | cold and piercing; raw: a bleak wind. |
| 3. | without hope or encouragement; depressing; dreary: a bleak future. |
bleak
2 [bleek] –noun
| a European freshwater fish, Alburnus alburnus, having scales with a silvery pigment that is used in the production of artificial pearls. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To bleak
| bleak 1 (blēk) adj. bleak·er, bleak·est
[Middle English bleik, pale, from Old Norse bleikr, white; see bhel-1 in Indo-European roots.] bleak'ly adv., bleak'ness n. |
| bleak 2 (blēk) n. pl. bleak or bleaks A small European freshwater fish of the genus Alburnus that is related to the carp and has silvery scales used in the manufacture of artificial pearls. [Middle English bleke, probably alteration (influenced by bleke, pale) of *blay, from Old English blǣge.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Bleak
Bleak\, a. [OE. blac, bleyke, bleche, AS. bl[=a]c, bl?c, pale, wan; akin to Icel. bleikr, Sw. blek, Dan. bleg, OS. bl?k, D. bleek, OHG. pleih, G. bleich; all from the root of AS. bl[=i]can to shine; akin to OHG. bl[=i]chen to shine; cf. L. flagrare to burn, Gr. ? to burn, shine, Skr. bhr[=a]j to shine, and E. flame. ?98. Cf. Bleach, Blink, Flame.]1. Without color; pale; pallid. [Obs.] When she came out she looked as pale and as bleak as one that were laid out dead. --Foxe. 2. Desolate and exposed; swept by cold winds. Wastes too bleak to rear The common growth of earth, the foodful ear. --Wordsworth. At daybreak, on the bleak sea beach. --Longfellow. 3. Cold and cutting; cheerless; as, a bleak blast. -- Bleak"ish, a. -- Bleak"ly, adv. -- Bleak"ness, n.Bleak
Bleak\, n. [From Bleak, a., cf. Blay.] (Zo["o]l.) A small European river fish (Leuciscus alburnus), of the family Cyprinid[ae]; the blay. [Written also blick.] Note: The silvery pigment lining the scales of the bleak is used in the manufacture of artificial pearls. --Baird.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : bleak
Spanish:
inhóspito, desolado,
German:
öde,
Japanese:
荒涼とした
bleak
c.1300, from O.N. bleikr "pale" (see bleach). Sense of "cheerless" is c.1719 figurative extension. The same Gmc. root produced the O.E. blac "pale," but this died out, probably from confusion with blæc "black;" but bleikr persisted, with a sense of "bare" as well as "pale."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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bleak
(Alburnus alburnus), small, slender fish of the carp family, Cyprinidae, found in rivers and lakes of England and Europe. A silvery-green fish, it grows to a maximum length of about 20 centimetres (8 inches). It lives in schools, usually near the surface, and eats aquatic invertebrates. The bleak is edible but bony. Its scales are used in eastern Europe for the manufacture of artificial pearls.
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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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