The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Blind \Blind\, a. [AS.; akin to D., G., OS., Sw., & Dan. blind,
Icel. blindr, Goth. blinds; of uncertain origin.]
1. Destitute of the sense of seeing, either by natural defect
or by deprivation; without sight.
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He that is strucken blind can not forget
The precious treasure of his eyesight lost. --Shak.
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2. Not having the faculty of discernment; destitute of
intellectual light; unable or unwilling to understand or
judge; as, authors are blind to their own defects.
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But hard be hardened, blind be blinded more,
That they may stumble on, and deeper fall. --Milton.
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3. Undiscerning; undiscriminating; inconsiderate.
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This plan is recommended neither to blind
approbation nor to blind reprobation. --Jay.
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4. Having such a state or condition as a thing would have to
a person who is blind; not well marked or easily
discernible; hidden; unseen; concealed; as, a blind path;
a blind ditch.
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5. Involved; intricate; not easily followed or traced.
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The blind mazes of this tangled wood. --Milton.
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6. Having no openings for light or passage; as, a blind wall;
open only at one end; as, a blind alley; a blind gut.
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7. Unintelligible, or not easily intelligible; as, a blind
passage in a book; illegible; as, blind writing.
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8. (Hort.) Abortive; failing to produce flowers or fruit; as,
blind buds; blind flowers.
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Blind alley, an alley closed at one end; a cul-de-sac.
Blind axle, an axle which turns but does not communicate
motion. --Knight.
Blind beetle, one of the insects apt to fly against people,
esp. at night.
Blind cat (Zool.), a species of catfish (Gronias
nigrolabris), nearly destitute of eyes, living in caverns
in Pennsylvania.
Blind coal, coal that burns without flame; anthracite coal.
--Simmonds.
Blind door, Blind window, an imitation of a door or
window, without an opening for passage or light. See
Blank door or Blank window, under Blank, a.
Blind level (Mining), a level or drainage gallery which has
a vertical shaft at each end, and acts as an inverted
siphon. --Knight.
Blind nettle (Bot.), dead nettle. See Dead nettle, under
Dead.
Blind shell (Gunnery), a shell containing no charge, or one
that does not explode.
Blind side, the side which is most easily assailed; a weak
or unguarded side; the side on which one is least able or
disposed to see danger. --Swift.
Blind snake (Zool.), a small, harmless, burrowing snake, of
the family Typhlopid[ae], with rudimentary eyes.
Blind spot (Anat.), the point in the retina of the eye
where the optic nerve enters, and which is insensible to
light.
Blind tooling, in bookbinding and leather work, the
indented impression of heated tools, without gilding; --
called also blank tooling, and blind blocking.
Blind wall, a wall without an opening; a blank wall.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
cat \cat\ (k[a^]t), n. [AS. cat; akin to D. & Dan. kat, Sw.
katt, Icel. k["o]ttr, G. katze, kater, Ir. cat, W. cath,
Armor. kaz, LL. catus, Bisc. catua, NGr. ga`ta, ga`tos, Russ.
& Pol. kot, Turk. kedi, Ar. qitt; of unknown origin. Cf.
Kitten.]
1. (Zool.) Any animal belonging to the natural family
Felidae, and in particular to the various species of the
genera Felis, Panthera, and Lynx. The domestic cat
is Felis domestica. The European wild cat (Felis
catus) is much larger than the domestic cat. In the
United States the name wild cat is commonly applied to
the bay lynx (Lynx rufus). The larger felines, such as
the lion, tiger, leopard, and cougar, are often referred
to as cats, and sometimes as big cats. See Wild cat, and
Tiger cat.
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Note: The domestic cat includes many varieties named from
their place of origin or from some peculiarity; as, the
Angora cat; the Maltese cat; the Manx cat; the
Siamese cat.
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Laying aside their often rancorous debate over
how best to preserve the Florida panther, state
and federal wildlife officials,
environmentalists, and independent scientists
endorsed the proposal, and in 1995 the eight cats
[female Texas cougars] were brought from Texas
and released. . . .
Uprooted from the arid hills of West Texas, three
of the imports have died, but the remaining five
adapted to swamp life and have each given birth
to at least one litter of kittens. --Mark Derr
(N. Y. Times,
Nov. 2, 1999,
Science Times
p. F2).
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Note: The word cat is also used to designate other animals,
from some fancied resemblance; as, civet cat, fisher
cat, catbird, catfish shark, sea cat.
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2. (Naut.)
(a) A strong vessel with a narrow stern, projecting
quarters, and deep waist. It is employed in the coal
and timber trade.
(b) A strong tackle used to draw an anchor up to the
cathead of a ship. --Totten.
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3. A double tripod (for holding a plate, etc.), having six
feet, of which three rest on the ground, in whatever
position it is placed.
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4. An old game; specifically:
(a) The game of tipcat and the implement with which it is
played. See Tipcat.
(b) A game of ball, called, according to the number of
batters, one old cat, two old cat, etc.
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5. same as cat o' nine tails; as, British sailors feared
the cat.
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6. A catamaran.
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Angora cat, blind cat, See under Angora, Blind.
Black cat the fisher. See under Black.
Cat and dog, like a cat and dog; quarrelsome; inharmonious.
"I am sure we have lived a cat and dog life of it."
--Coleridge.
Cat block (Naut.), a heavy iron-strapped block with a large
hook, part of the tackle used in drawing an anchor up to
the cathead.
Cat hook (Naut.), a strong hook attached to a cat block.
Cat nap, a very short sleep. [Colloq.]
Cat o' nine tails, an instrument of punishment consisting
of nine pieces of knotted line or cord fastened to a
handle; -- formerly used to flog offenders on the bare
back.
Cat's cradle, game played, esp. by children, with a string
looped on the fingers so, as to resemble small cradle. The
string is transferred from the fingers of one to those of
another, at each transfer with a change of form. See
Cratch, Cratch cradle.
To bell the cat, to perform a very dangerous or very
difficult task; -- taken metaphorically from a fable about
a mouse who proposes to put a bell on a cat, so as to be
able to hear the cat coming.
To let the cat out of the bag, to tell a secret, carelessly
or willfully. [Colloq.]
Bush cat, the serval. See Serval.
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