blunder - Wiktionary, the free dictionary (original) (raw)

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

Inherited from Middle English blundren, blondren (verb) and blunder, blonder (“disturbance, strife”), from the verb; partly from Middle English blondren, a frequentative form of Middle English blonden, blanden ("to mix; mix up"; corresponding to blend +‎ -er); and partly from Middle English blundren, a frequentative form of Middle English blunden (“to stagger; stumble”), from Old Norse blunda (“to shut the eyes; doze”). Cognates include Norwegian blunda (“to shut the eyes; doze”), dialectal Swedish blundra (“to act blindly or rashly”), Danish blunde (“to blink”) or blunde (“to take a nap”), Icelandic blunda (“to nap; doze”). Related to English blind.

blunder (plural blunders)

  1. A clumsy or embarrassing mistake.
  2. (chess) A very bad move, usually caused by some tactical oversight.
    Synonym: (symbol) ??
  3. (obsolete) Confusion; bewilderment; trouble; disturbance; clamour. [ca. 1375–1774]

mistake

blunder (third-person singular simple present blunders, present participle blundering, simple past and past participle blundered)

  1. (intransitive) To make a big mistake, especially when it is careless or stupid. [from 1706]
    to blunder in preparing a medical prescription
    1. (chess, backgammon, intransitive) To make a bad move, especially caused by tactical oversight.
    2. (chess, transitive) To lose a piece due to having made a bad move [with the piece lost].
      blunder a rook
    3. (chess, transitive) To overlook the possibility of, or end up in, a specified undesirable situation after making a bad move.
      blunder a draw
      blunder a mate in one
  2. (intransitive, sometimes figurative, with adverb or preposition) To move in an unsteady way. [from ca. 1386, figurative sense from 1641]
    • October 6, 1759, Oliver Goldsmith, The Bee No. 1
      I was never distinguished for address, and have often even blundered in making my bow.
  3. (intransitive, with adverb or preposition) To enter a place or become involved in a difficult situation by mistake.
  4. (transitive, obsolete) To do or treat in a blundering manner; to confuse.
    • 1676, Edward Stillingfleet, A Defence of the Discourse Concerning the Idolatry Practised in the Church of Rome:
      He blunders and confounds all these together.
    • 1714, Humphry Ditton, A discourse concerning the resurrection of Jesus Christ:
      Were a Diſpute to be manag'd purely for a Trial of Skill; then to ſhuffle and digreſs from the Matter in hand, ſo as by any means whatſoever to blunder an Adverſary, and ſtop the Progreſs of his Argument, were a more pardonable Piece of Folly.

To move blindly or clumsily

blunder

  1. present of blunde

Borrowed from English blunder, from Middle English blonder, blundur (“disturbance, strife”), from Old Norse blunda (“to shut the eyes”). Related to blind.

blunder m (plural blunders, diminutive blundertje n)

  1. a blunder, serious error or mistake

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

blunder

  1. inflection of blunderen:
    1. first-person singular present indicative
    2. (in case of inversion) second-person singular present indicative
    3. imperative

Unadapted borrowing from English blunder. According to SO attested since 1837.

blunder c

  1. blunder (clumsy mistake)
  2. (chess) A blunder; a very bad move, especially caused by some tactical oversight.
    Synonyms: ??, bortsättning, misstag

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