bladder

noun, verb — 9 senses

bladder

noun

UK /ˈblædə/ · US /ˈblædɚ/

Etymology From Middle English bladdre, bleddre, bladder, bledder, from Old English blæddre, a variant of blǣdre, blēdre (“blister, bladder”), from Proto-West Germanic *blādrā, from Proto-Germanic *blēdrǭ, *bladrǭ (“blister, bladder”).

7 senses
  1. 1A flexible sac that can expand and contract and that…
  2. 2Specifically, the urinary bladder.
  3. 3A hollow, inflatable organ of a plant.
  4. 4The inflatable bag inside various balls used in sports…
  5. 5A container in the form of a flexible bag.
  6. 6A sealed plastic bag that contains wine and is usually…
  7. 7Anything inflated, empty, or unsound.
1

Biology, Natural sciences, Zoology A flexible sac that can expand and contract and that holds liquids or gases.

2

Anatomy, Medicine, Sciences Specifically, the urinary bladder.

3

Biology, Botany, Natural sciences A hollow, inflatable organ of a plant.

4

The inflatable bag inside various balls used in sports, such as footballs and rugby balls.

5

A container in the form of a flexible bag.

  • a fuel bladder
6

A sealed plastic bag that contains wine and is usually packaged in a cask.

7

Figuratively Anything inflated, empty, or unsound.

  • to swim with bladders of philosophy1711, Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury, “Sensus Communis”, in Characteristicks of Men, Manners, Opinions, Times:
Derived terms
43 termsair bladder, bald as a bladder of lard, bashful bladder, bladderball, bladder campion, bladder cancer, bladder cherry, bladder cicada, bladder desperation, bladdered, bladderet, bladder fermentation syndrome, bladder fern, bladderful, bladder infection, bladder kelp, bladderless, bladderlike, bladdernut, bladder plum, bladderpod, bladder senna, bladder worm, bladderworm, bladderwort, bladder wrack, bladderwrack, bladdery, cackle-bladder, cackle bladder, gallbladder, gall bladder, gas bladder, megabladder, neobladder, nonbladder, overactive bladder, painful bladder syndrome, plum bladder, shy bladder, swim-bladder, swim bladder, urinary bladder
Hypernyms
urogenital sinus - embryological precursor

bladder

verb

Etymology From Middle English bladdre, bleddre, bladder, bledder, from Old English blæddre, a variant of blǣdre, blēdre (“blister, bladder”), from Proto-West Germanic *blādrā, from Proto-Germanic *blēdrǭ, *bladrǭ (“blister, bladder”).

1

To swell out like a bladder with air; to inflate.

  • bladder'd up with pride of his own merit1610, Giles Fletcher, Christ's Victorie and Triumph, in Heaven, in Earth, over and after Death:
2

To store or put up in bladders.

  • bladdered lard

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.