bleach

== English == === Pronunciation === enPR: blēch, IPA(key): /bliːt͡ʃ/ (US) IPA(key): [blit͡ʃ] (UK) IPA(key): [bliːt͡ʃ] Rhymes: -iːtʃ === Etymology 1 === From Middle English blechen, from Old English blǣċan (“to bleach, whiten”), from Proto-West Germanic *blaikijan, from Proto-Germanic *blaikijaną, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- (“to shine”). Cognate with Dutch bleken (“to bleach”), German bleichen (“to bleach”), Danish blege, Swedish bleka (“to bleach”). Related to Old English blāc (“pale”) (English blake; compare also bleak). ==== Noun ==== bleach (countable and uncountable, plural bleaches) (uncountable) A chemical, such as sodium hypochlorite or hydrogen peroxide, or a preparation of such a chemical, used for disinfecting or whitening. (countable) A variety of bleach. ===== Derived terms ===== ===== Translations ===== ==== Verb ==== bleach (third-person singular simple present bleaches, present participle bleaching, simple past and past participle bleached) (transitive) To treat with bleach, especially so as to whiten (fabric, paper, etc.) or lighten (hair). Synonym: (obsolete) whitewash (intransitive) To be whitened or lightened (by the sun, for example). (intransitive, biology, of corals) To lose color due to stress-induced expulsion of symbiotic unicellular algae. (transitive, figurative) To make meaningless; to divest of meaning; to make empty. ===== Synonyms ===== blanch ===== Derived terms ===== ===== Translations ===== === Etymology 2 === From Middle English bleche, from Old English blǣċu, blǣċo (“paleness, pallor”), from Proto-Germanic *blaikį̄ (“paleness”). See Etymology 1 above. ==== Noun ==== bleach (plural bleaches) An act of bleaching; exposure to the sun. === Etymology 3 === From Middle English bleche (also bleke), from Old English blǣċ, blǣc, variants of blāc (“bright, shining, glittering”), from Proto-West Germanic *blaik, from Proto-Germanic *blaikaz (“pale, shining”). More at bleak. ==== Adjective ==== bleach (comparative bleacher or more bleach, superlative bleachest or most bleach) (archaic) Pale; bleak. === Etymology 4 === From Middle English bleche, from Old English blǣċe (“irritation of the skin, leprosy; psoriasis”). ==== Noun ==== bleach (plural bleaches) (obsolete) A disease of the skin characterized by hypopigmentation and itching, believed in the 17th century to be a form of leprosy. === Anagrams === Blecha, balche, balché == Jamaican Creole == === Etymology === From English bleach (whiten). A reference to the fact that as night turns to day the sky gets lighter, as if it is being bleached. === Verb === bleach To stay awake through the night.