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bleak
bleak / blēk/ • adj. (of an area of land) lacking vegetation and exposed to the elements: a bleak and barren moor. ∎ (of a building or room) charmless and inhospitable; dreary. ∎ (of the weather) cold and miserable: a bleak midwinter's day. ∎ (of a situation or future prospect) not hopeful or encouraging; unlikely to have a favorable outcome: he paints a bleak picture of a company that has lost its way. ∎ (of a person or a person's expression) cold and forbidding: his bleak, near vacant eyes grew remote. DERIVATIVES: bleak·ly adv. bleak·ness n. bleak2 • n. a small silvery shoaling fish (genera Alburnus and Chalcalburnus) of the minnow family, found in Eurasian rivers. |
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"bleak." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "bleak." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-bleak.html "bleak." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-bleak.html |
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bleak
bleak2 †pale, wan; bare of vegetation, exposed; cold from bareness; XVI. Obscurely rel. to †blake pale, yellow, †bleach pale, bare, †bleike, blayke pale, yellow — ON. bleikr shining, white = OE. blāc (ME. blāke, blōke), OS. blēk, OHG. bleih :- Gmc. *blaika-.
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Cite this article
T. F. HOAD. "bleak." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "bleak." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-bleak1.html T. F. HOAD. "bleak." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-bleak1.html |
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bleak
bleak1 small river-fish. XV. prob. — ON. bleikja = OHG. bleicha :- Gmc. *blaikjōn, f. *blaik- white (see next).
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Cite this article
T. F. HOAD. "bleak." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "bleak." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-bleak.html T. F. HOAD. "bleak." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-bleak.html |
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bleak
bleak
•antique, batik, beak, bespeak, bezique, bleak, boutique, cacique, caïque, cheek, chic, clique, creak, creek, critique, Dominique, eke, freak, geek, Greek, hide-and-seek, keek, Lalique, leak, leek, Martinique, meek, midweek, Mozambique, Mustique, mystique, oblique, opéra comique, ortanique, peak, Peake, peek, physique, pique, pratique, reek, seek, shriek, Sikh, sleek, sneak, speak, Speke, squeak, streak, teak, technique, tongue-in-cheek, tweak, unique, veronique, weak, week, wreak
•stickybeak • grosbeak • houseleek
•forepeak • technospeak • newspeak
•doublespeak • hairstreak • tugrik
•fenugreek • Realpolitik • Ostpolitik
•pipsqueak • workweek
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Cite this article
"bleak." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "bleak." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-bleak.html "bleak." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-bleak.html |
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