blistern.1
/ˈblɪstə/, U.S. /ˈblɪstər/ 1. A thin vesicle on the skin, containing serum, caused by friction, a burn, or other injury, or the action of a vesicatory.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > eruption > [noun] > spot of > blister
bladderc1000
blistera1400
blurec1440
blurrea1529
water wheal1530
vesication1543
phlycten1585
psydracium1585
water bladder1587
bleb1607
phlyzacium1693
bullule1707
vesicle1799
pompholyx1808
water blister1821
blab1861
bulla1877
papulovesicle1877
vesicula1877
dermoid1897
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) l. 6011 Bile and blester [Vesp. blister] bolnand sare.
?1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Husbandry f. xxvii There is a blyster rysen vnder the tonge.
1561 J. Hollybush tr. H. Brunschwig Most Excellent Homish Apothecarye f. 22v Good..agaynst blusters or reed pustuls.
1598 Floure & Leafe in T. Speght Wks. G. Chaucer f. 367v/2 For blisters of the sonne brenning, Very good..ointments.
1664 J. Dryden Rival Ladies iii. i. 36 This hand would rise in Blisters should'st thou touch it.
1815 W. Henry Elements Exper. Chem. (ed. 7) II. i. xxi. 278 Acetic acid, thus prepared..raises a blister when applied to the skin.
1884 W. C. Smith Kildrostan 88 Your wet ropes And clumsy oars..give blisters first And then a horny hand.
2.
a. A similar swelling, containing fluid or (more usually) air, on the surface of a plant, on metal after cooling, a painted surface, and the like.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > condition of matter > bad condition of matter > [noun] > formation of blisters > blister
blister1597
boil1841
1597 J. Gerard Herball iii. 1296 Wherupon there neuer grow..blisters or bladders.
a1665 G. Starkey Expos. Six Gates i. 155 in Ripley Reviv'd (1678) Our Compound in this heat riseth in blisters.
1671 J. Ray in J. Ray et al. Philos. Lett. (1718) 97 I had thought that the Kermes-berry had been a Blister of the Bark of the Oak.
1738 G. Smith tr. Laboratory ii. 64 The Paste would be cloudy, and full of Blisters.
1885 Athenæum 30 May 704/2 Nor is this cracking all the mischief which has lately befallen this picture..there is rather a large blister.
b. A disease incident to peach-trees, caused by the fungus Exoascus deformans, which produces a distortion of the leaves.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > disease or injury > [noun] > type of disease > fungal > associated with crop or food plants > fruit or fruit plants
leaf curl1850
fly-speck1855
vine-mildew1855
vine-fungus1857
leaf blister1858
blister1864
peach-blister1866
charbon1882
crown rot1888
melanose1888
plum pocket1888
peach leaf curl1890
brown rot1894
mummy1902
sooty blotch1909
rhubarb disease1911
spur blight1915
red core1936
sclerotinia1950
Sigatoka1958
1864 Ohio Agric. Rep. XVIII. 460 For some years, in this country, the disease which produces the ‘Blister and Curl’ in the peach leaf, and decay in the peach fruit, has..produced extensive ravages.
1919 Board Agric. & Fisheries Leaflet No. 120 ‘Curl’ or ‘leaf blister’ proves very injurious to peaches and nectarines during certain seasons.
c. Nautical colloquial. An outer covering fitted to a vessel to provide protection against torpedoes and mines or to improve stability. Hence, a ship so protected. Also attributive.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > parts of vessels > body of vessel > [noun] > bulge to give protection or stability
blister1919
bulge1919
1919 Chambers's Jrnl. 26 July 543/1 Immunity from the evil effects of torpedoes and mines is sought by the provision of a swelling, commonly called a ‘bulge’ or a ‘blister’, below the water-line on each side.
1921 Flight 13 584/1 By suitable methods of ‘blister’ construction of ships, however, this mining effect could be reduced to something as negligible as the direct hit.
1923 W. S. Churchill World Crisis II. i. 23 When at last Monitors, ‘Blisters’ and Tanks had been devised and built.
1948 R. de Kerchove Internat. Maritime Dict. 64/1 Blisters which communicate with the open sea, are fitted on some ships as an anti-rolling device.
d. A rounded compartment protruding from the body of an aeroplane. Also attributive.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > aeroplane > parts of aircraft > [noun] > attached compartment housing something
nacelle1914
blister1939
pod1950
1939 Meccano Mag. Sept. 517/2 There are five machine gun positions, one in the fuselage nose, and four others in the form of streamlined ‘blisters’ on the top, bottom, and sides of the fuselage.
1941 Illustr. London News 198 516 An air-gunner in one of the carefully stream-lined blister gun turrets of a ‘Catalina’.
1943 ‘T. Dudley-Gordon’ Coastal Command xv. 140 Two big gun blisters, with sliding, rounded panels of perspex, in which two gunners are always on watch.
3. Medicine. Anything applied to raise a blister; a vesicatory.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > healing > medicines or physic > medicines for specific purpose > preparations for raising blisters > [noun]
blister?1541
vesicatory1604
vesicant1661
epispastic1682
epipastic1710
pustulant1861
?1541 R. Copland Guy de Chauliac's Questyonary Cyrurgyens iv. sig. Piij And the blysters potencyall cauteres be applyed.
1759 R. Whytt in Philos. Trans. 1758 (Royal Soc.) 50 570 I advised a blister to be applied.
1875 H. C. Wood Treat. Therapeutics (1879) 561 Blisters are especially useful in inflammations of serous membranes.
4. A derogatory term for a person, esp. an annoying one. slang.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > inferiority or baseness > inferior person > [noun] > held in contempt
thingOE
cat?c1225
geggea1300
fox-whelpc1320
creaturea1325
whelp1338
scoutc1380
turnbroach14..
foumart1508
shit1508
get?a1513
strummel?a1513
scofting?1518
pismirea1535
clinchpoop1555
rag1566
huddle and twang1578
whipster1590
slop1599
shullocka1603
tailor1607
turnspit1607
fitchewa1616
bulchin1617
trundle-taila1626
tick1631
louse1633
fart1669
insect1684
mully-grub-gurgeon1746
grub-worm1752
rass1790
foutre1794
blister1806
snot1809
skin1825
scurf1851
scut1873
Siwash1882
stiff1882
bleeder1887
blighter1896
sugar1916
vuilgoed1924
klunk1942
fart sack1943
fart-arse1946
jerkwad1980
1806 J. Beresford Miseries Human Life I. vii. 145 A perpetual blister;—alias, a sociable next-door-neighbour, who has taken a violent affection for you.
1880 W. H. Patterson Gloss. Words Antrim & Down 9 Blister, an annoying person.
1914 ‘I. Hay’ Lighter Side School Life iii. 81 Mr. Wellings' reputation throughout the school..was that of a ‘chronic blister’.
1930 P. G. Wodehouse Very Good, Jeeves xi. 308 Women are a wash-out. I see no future for the sex, Bertie. Blisters, all of them.
5. A summons. slang.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > administration of justice > process, writ, warrant, or order > [noun] > summons
citationc1325
summonancec1410
process1423
summons1429
summonitionc1455
venire facias1463
letters citatory1465
summonda1500
interpellation1579
butterfly1583
exploit1622
monition1649
cital1760
venire1763
exaction1816
assignation1884
blister1903
bluey1909
blue1939
1903 Sessions Paper 17 Nov. 33 I was served with four blisters yesterday.
1906 Daily Chron. 20 Mar. 5/6 ‘Have you never had a “blister”?’.. The solicitor explained to the Court that a ‘blister’ was a summons for ‘scorching’.
1947 F. Sargeson in Penguin New Writing 29 62 He'd been paying off a few bob every time he had a few to spare... And then he gets a blister!
Compounds
blister-beetle n. an insect used for raising blisters, spec. the Spanish fly ( Cantharis vesicatoria).
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Coleoptera or beetles and weevils > [noun] > Polyphaga (omnivorous) > superfamily Diversicornia > family Cantharidae > genus Cantharides > member of
blister-fly1585
French flya1641
Spanish fly1654
blister-beetle1816
1816 W. Kirby & W. Spence Introd. Entomol. (1843) I. 31 If the apothecary cannot distinguish a..blister-beetle from a Carabus.
blister-fly n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Coleoptera or beetles and weevils > [noun] > Polyphaga (omnivorous) > superfamily Diversicornia > family Cantharidae > genus Cantharides > member of
blister-fly1585
French flya1641
Spanish fly1654
blister-beetle1816
1585 J. Higgins tr. Junius Nomenclator 72/2 Mordella,..a whelke flie, or blister flie.
1836 D. B. Edward Hist. Texas 88 Next comes the Spanish or blister fly.
1842 J. C. Loudon Suburban Horticulturist 105 The Canthárides, or Spanish blister-flies, are an essential article of medicine.
1859 W. S. Coleman Our Woodlands 23 The brilliant Blister-fly..is only very sparingly met with in this country.
blister blight n. a disease of the tea-plant caused by the fungus Exobasidium vexans, which produces blisters on the leaves.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > disease or injury > [noun] > type of disease > fungal > associated with crop or food plants > various diseases > blight
rubigoa1398
blicheningc1420
blast1577
brantcorn1578
blight1611
brand1640
uredo1706
rickets1759
coal brand1793
blister blight1877
1877 S. Baildon Tea in Assam 45 I do not know whether it has been really ascertained what causes ‘Blister blight’. A leaf gets a small speck upon it at first, which, as it enlarges, assumes the appearance of a blister.
1949 Ann. Reg. 1948 144 Tea bushes were attacked by blister blight.
blister-copper n. copper having a blistered surface, obtained during smelting just before the final operation; hence attributive blister-copper ore.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > metal > base metal > [noun] > copper > types of
garcopper1654
rose copper1678
tile copper1825
pimple copper1848
blister-copper ore1861
pimple metal1870
tough-cake1881
tough pitch1881
electrolytic1912
1861 J. Percy Metall.: Fuel I. 325 The blister-copper is tapped into sand-moulds.
1875 R. Hunt & F. W. Rudler Ure's Dict. Arts (ed. 7) I. 398 Blister Copper-ore, a botryoidal variety of copper-pyrites.
blister furnace n. a furnace for the conversion of copper regulus or matte into blister-copper.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > furnace or kiln > furnace > [noun] > furnaces for melting or refining metals > furnace for treating copper
hotplatea1884
blister furnace1902
1902 Encycl. Brit. XXVII. 237/1 The multiple system anodes are sometimes cast directly from the blister furnace or the converter.
blister gas n. a poison gas which causes blisters on or intense irritation of the skin.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > poison > [noun] > poisonous gas
carbonic oxide1802
poison gas1816
cyanogen1823
carbon monoxide1868
sneeze gas1918
sneezing gas1918
Lewisite1921
sternutator1922
blister gas1936
nausea gas1936
Zyklon1939
harassing agent1968
1936 Current Hist. July 61/2 In Class D come the vesicants or blister gases.
1938 Encycl. Brit. Bk. of Year 144/1 The blister gases..penetrate nearly every material except glass, porcelain, and unglazed metals.
blister pack n. a pack consisting of a piece of usually transparent plastic moulded over an article and sealed to a flat card.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > receptacle or container > container or package for goods > [noun] > specific
woolpack1297
bag-in-a-box1943
pre-package1946
pre-pack1951
Tetra Pak1953
blister package1954
vacuum packaging1954
blister pack1964
ballotin1974
1964 Drug & Cosmetic Industry July 54/1 (heading) Blister-pack.
1969 L. S. Mounts in W. R. R. Park Plastics Film Technol. v. 116 Blister packs are usually rigid.
1977 Times 22 Oct. 12/7 The cheapest bangers [sc. fireworks] are now sold in blister-packs of six at 21p each.
1983 N.Y. Times 13 Aug. 14/1 Tamper-resistant packages, such as blister packs.
blister-pack v. (transitive) to package in this way.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > manufacturing processes > perform general or industrial manufacturing processes [verb (transitive)] > pack > specific methods
sackc1405
bale1762
unitize1945
vacuum-pack1951
cargo1959
blister-pack1971
1971 Islander (Victoria, Brit. Columbia) 30 May 6/4 Sophisticated machinery to blister pack articles for protection during shipment.
blister-packed adj.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > merchandise > [adjective] > merchandise packaging
packaged1906
repackaged1909
wrapped1957
blister-packed1976
1976 CB Mag. June 22/1 (advt.) Attractively blister packed.
blister-packing n.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > manufacturing processes > [noun] > processing > packing > specific
sacking1569
bagging1711
baling1762
woolpacking1875
blister packaging1954
vacuum packaging1954
skin packaging1957
crating1963
strip packaging1969
blister-packing1976
1976 Lancet 4 Dec. 1239/1 The use of blister-packing..could lead to important savings of drugs discarded each year in English hospitals.
blister package n. = blister pack n.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > receptacle or container > container or package for goods > [noun] > specific
woolpack1297
bag-in-a-box1943
pre-package1946
pre-pack1951
Tetra Pak1953
blister package1954
vacuum packaging1954
blister pack1964
ballotin1974
1954 Mod. Plastics May 89/3 Very small and simple pieces, such as dome-like ‘blister’ packages.
1964 Drug & Cosmetic Industry July 54/2 Cardboard and plastic may be combined in several different ways to yield the desired blister package.
blister packaging n. packaging in blister packs.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > manufacturing processes > [noun] > processing > packing > specific
sacking1569
bagging1711
baling1762
woolpacking1875
blister packaging1954
vacuum packaging1954
skin packaging1957
crating1963
strip packaging1969
blister-packing1976
1954 Mod. Plastics May 97/1 Master Rule Mfg. Co., Middletown, N.Y., has..opened a new phase in ‘blister’ packaging by encasing a steel tape measuring rule in the package during the vacuum forming operation.
1976 Oxf. Consumer Mar. 7/2 The shopkeepers' opinions are divided on the blister packaging... Once the shopkeeper has broken the blister..the article is no use for further sale.
blister pearl n. a pearly excrescence of irregular shape found on the shell of a pearl oyster.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > gem or precious stone > pearl > [noun] > varieties of
unioOE
pearl of orientc1400
seed pearl1551
powdering pearls1606
pear pearl1647
Welsh pearl1681
peara1685
union1694
akoya1727
river pearl1776
orient1833
bouton pearl1851
blister pearl1885
Bombay pearl1885
teardrop pearl1904
cultured pearl1911
culture pearl1921
1885 Encycl. Brit. XVIII. 446/2 The mollusc..depositing nacreous matter.., thus forming a hollow body of irregular shape known as a ‘blister pearl’.
1910 Daily Chron. 4 Apr. 4/5 Overdress of gauze encrusted with blister pearls.
blister-plant n. a name for different species of Ranunculus, esp. R. acris, R. sceleratus.
blister-plaster n. a plaster for raising a blister.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > healing > medical appliances or equipment > equipment for treating wound or ulcer > [noun] > poultice, plaster, or compress > plaster for raising blisters
blister-plaster1796
1796 J. Wolcot Satire in Wks. (1812) III. 390 He Gilead's Balm; but you a Blister-plaster.
blister-steel n. steel having a blistered surface, obtained during the process of converting iron into shear-steel or cast-steel; attributive blister-steel furnace.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > metal > steel > [noun] > other types of steel
hardened steel1557
shear steel1815
blister-steel1831
mild steel1850
carbon steel1856
Bessemer steel1864
soft centre1865
silicon steel1882
weld-steel1884
rimmed steel1920
society > occupation and work > equipment > furnace or kiln > furnace > [noun] > furnaces for melting or refining metals > furnaces for treating iron > for producing steel
retort1634
blister-steel furnace1831
Siemens furnace1866
1831 J. Holland Treat. Manuf. Metal I. 230 When the iron has absorbed a quantity of carbon in the blister steel furnace.
1837 D. Brewster Treat. Magnetism 319 Needles of shear steel received a greater magnetic force than those of blister steel.
1880 C. M. Mason Forty Shires 65 When the bars are removed from the furnace they are in a blistered state; they are known as blister-steel.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1887; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
blisterv.
/ˈblɪstə/, U.S. /ˈblɪstər/ 1. transitive. To raise blisters on. Also absol.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > eruption > erupt in spots, etc. [verb (transitive)] > raise blisters
risea1398
blister?1541
beblister1575
vesicate1658
embladder1662
?1541 R. Copland Guy de Chauliac's Questyonary Cyrurgyens iv. sig. Qjv Those that blyster make no scarre.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) i. ii. 326 A Southwest blow on yee, And blister you all ore. View more context for this quotation
1624 J. Smith Gen. Hist. Virginia iii. vii. 69 The Axes..blistered their tender fingers.
1787 W. Withering Bot. Arrangem. Brit. Plants (ed. 2) II. 576 It is very acrid, and easily blisters the skin.
1822 W. Scott Fortunes of Nigel II. x. 225 Patients might be bled, cupped, or blistered.
1842 S. Lover Handy Andy ii. 18 I'll slap at him..I'll blister him.
1866 J. H. Newman Dream of Gerontius iv. 33 Ice which blisters may be said to burn.
2. transferred. To raise blisters on (iron bars, etc.) in the process of conversion into steel.
3. intransitive. To be or become covered with blisters.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > eruption > erupt [verb (intransitive)] > in blisters
blister1496
vesicate1899
the world > matter > condition of matter > bad condition of matter > deteriorate in condition [verb (intransitive)] > become blistered
blister1799
1496 Treat. Fysshynge wyth Angle in Bk. St. Albans (rev. ed.) sig. giv He blowyth tyll his lyppes blyster.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Winter's Tale (1623) ii. ii. 36 If I proue hony-mouth'd, let my tongue blister . View more context for this quotation
1735 J. Atwell in Philos. Trans. 1733–4 (Royal Soc.) 38 399 The Wound has blister'd.
1799 J. Robertson Gen. View Agric. Perth 168 The bark blisters and rises from the reed.
1821 Cook's Oracle (ed. 3) 92 Otherwise it [roast sucking-pig] will be apt to blister.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > extension in space > expansion or enlargement > expand or enlarge [verb (intransitive)] > distend > swell
swellOE
to-swellc1000
bolnec1325
pluma1398
bladderc1440
boldena1510
to bulk1551
hove1590
tympanize1607
outswell1612
tumefy1615
extuberate1623
heave1629
blister1644
puff1648
huff1656
intumesce1794
pluff1831
balloon1841
turgesce1864
tumesce1966
1644–7 J. Cleveland Char. London Diurnall (1677) 102 Our Modern Noble Men; those Wens of Greatness, the Body Politick's most peccant Humours, Blistred into Lords.
5. transitive. Used as an imprecation. slang.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [verb (transitive)] > oaths other than religious or obscene
confoundc1330
founda1382
hanga1400
whip1609
rat1691
fire1730
repique1760
curse1761
blow1781
blister1840
sugar1886
1840 H. Cockton Life Valentine Vox xxvi Blister 'em! Where can the scoundrels be got to?
1964 P. G. Wodehouse Frozen Assets iii. 46 Why didn't they send it up before, blister their insides? I've been in agonies of suspense.
6. Of a policeman: to record a person's name for an alleged offence; esp. in passive, to have one's name recorded in this way; to be summoned or punished for an offence (cf. blister n.1 5). slang.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > law enforcement > police force or the police > [verb (transitive)] > record one's name or an offence (on a licence)
endorse1902
blister1909
1909 J. R. Ware Passing Eng. Victorian Era 34/2 To blister..Used chiefly by cabmen in relation to magisterial fines, e.g., ‘I was blistered at Bow Street to-day for twenty hog.’
1938 F. D. Sharpe Sharpe of Flying Squad 329 Blistered, served with a summons.
1939 H. Hodge Cab, Sir? xvi. 225 When the policeman puts his notebook away again, we've usually been ‘blistered’. During recent years, policemen have been blistering us over three thousand times in a twelvemonth.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1887; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
> see also
also refers to : B-listern.2
<
n.1a1400
v.1496see also