blow

blow [-s] n

origin uncertain.

  1. Blast; burst of air; gust of wind.
  2. Hit; smite; smack; touch violently.
  3. Impact; collision; strike; shock; sudden violent force; [fig.] distress; sorrow; grief; woe; calamitous occurrence.

blow [-n, -s, blew] v

OE bláwan > L. flā-re.

  1. Gust; rush; move fluidly; burst forth with a strong current of air; (see John 3:8).
  2. Flow; stream; surge; breathe; enter within.
  3. Break; rupture; rend; divide; separate; splinter; violently split into many pieces.
  4. Play; produce by exhaling; rub to cause to sound; (see 2 Samuel 18:16).
  5. Brush; send; move; set in motion by a current of air.
  6. Phrase. “Blow away”: disappear; vanish; depart; withdraw; pass away into the air.
  7. Phrase. “Blow out”: extinguish; quench; douse; cause to cease giving off light.

blow [-n, -s, blew] v

OE blówan > L. flōrēre, to bloom; see also blow v<sup>1</sup>.

  1. Bloom; blossom; grow; swell; burst into flower; work toward perfection.