† abloyadj.
Origin: Probably a borrowing from French. Etymons: French *abloir, esbloir.
Etymology: Probably < the unattested past participle of an unattested Anglo-Norman verb *abloir (compare Middle French (rare) ablouir to seduce, to deceive (1340)), variant (with prefix substitution: compare a- a- prefix5) of Anglo-Norman and Middle French esbloir (French éblouir ) to dazzle, astonish, stupefy (c1165 in Old French as esbleuir , used reflexively, with reference to a dazzling sight) < an unattested post-classical Latin form *exblaudire < classical Latin ex- ex- prefix1 + an unattested post-classical Latin verb < the Germanic base of blethe adj. See further E. M. Wright in Mod. Lang. Review (1923) 18 86–7 and J. R. R. Tolkien & E. V. Gordon, rev. N. Davies Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1967) 108.
Obsolete.
rare.
the mind > emotion > pleasure > joy, gladness, or delight > [adjective] > extremely or excessively joyful
c1400 (?c1390) (1940) 1174 (MED) Þe lorde for blys abloy Ful oft con launce & lyȝt, & drof þat day wyth joy Thus to þe derk nyȝt.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2009; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
adj.c1400