bloom

noun, verb — 27 senses

bloom

noun

/bluːm/

Etymology From Middle English blome, from Old Norse blóm, from Proto-Germanic *blōmô (“flower”). Doublet of bloom (“spongy mass of metal”); see there for more.

17 senses
  1. 1A blossom; the flower of a plant; an expanded bud.
  2. 2Flowers.
  3. 3The opening of flowers in general; the state of…
  4. 4A state or time of beauty, freshness, and vigor; an…
  5. 5Rosy colour; the flush or glow on a person's cheek.
  6. 6The delicate, powdery coating upon certain growing or…
  7. 7Anything giving an appearance of attractive freshness.
  8. 8An algal bloom.
  9. 9The clouded appearance which varnish sometimes takes…
  10. 10A yellowish deposit or powdery coating which appears on…
  11. 11A bright-hued variety of some minerals.
  12. 12A white area of cocoa butter that forms on the surface…
  13. 13A natural protective coating on an eggshell.
  14. 14An undesirable halo effect that may occur when a very…
  15. 15The increase in bullet spread over time as a gun's…
  16. 16A fan of Filipino girl group BINI.
  17. 17A group of ladybugs.
1

A blossom; the flower of a plant; an expanded bud.

  • the rich blooms and enamelled vegetation of the tropics1843, William H[ickling] Prescott, History of the Conquest of Mexico, […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), New York, N.Y.: Harper and Brothers, […], →OCLC:
2

Collective Flowers.

3

The opening of flowers in general; the state of blossoming or of having the flowers open.

  • The cherry trees are in bloom.
  • sight of vernal bloom1667, John Milton, “Book III”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
1 more example
  • O, not for thee the glow, the bloom, ⁠Who changest not in any gale, ⁠Nor branding summer suns avail To touch thy thousand years of gloom: […]1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto II”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC:
4

Figuratively A state or time of beauty, freshness, and vigor; an opening to higher perfection, analogous to that of buds into blossoms.

  • the bloom of youth
  • every successive mother had transmitted to her child a fainter bloom, a more delicate and briefer beauty.1850, Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter, a Romance, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor, Reed, and Fields, →OCLC:
1 more example
  • We can have some more / Nature is a whore / Bruises on the fruit / Tender age in bloom1992, “In Bloom”, in Kurt Cobain (lyrics), Nevermind, performed by Nirvana:
5

Rosy colour; the flush or glow on a person's cheek.

6

The delicate, powdery coating upon certain growing or newly-gathered fruits or leaves, as on grapes, plums, etc.

  • The bloom on blueberries is the dusty powder that protects them from the Sun; it does not rinse off.2010, Donna Pliner Rodnitzky, Low-Carb Smoothies:
7

Anything giving an appearance of attractive freshness.

  • a new, fresh, brilliant world, with all the bloom upon it1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 2, in Vanity Fair […], London: Bradbury and Evans […], published 1848, →OCLC:
8

An algal bloom.

  • Where upwellings or other sources of nutrients allow Ehux to abound, it can proliferate, as blooms, to the point that the ocean turns milky.2018, Tim Flannery, Europe: A Natural History, page 28:
9

The clouded appearance which varnish sometimes takes upon the surface of a picture.

10

A yellowish deposit or powdery coating which appears on well-tanned leather.

11

Chemistry, Geography, Geology, Mineralogy, Natural sciences, Physical sciences A bright-hued variety of some minerals.

  • the rose-red cobalt bloom
12

Cooking, Food, Lifestyle A white area of cocoa butter that forms on the surface of chocolate when warmed and cooled.

13

A natural protective coating on an eggshell.

14

Broadcasting, Media, Television An undesirable halo effect that may occur when a very bright region is displayed next to a very dark region of the screen.

15

Video games The increase in bullet spread over time as a gun's trigger is kept held.

  • Bloom does add a skill element, burst firing the weapon instead of holding the trigger down, but it's questionable if adding a skill element like that is the actual intent of bloom, because that’s a pretty lame and linear skill element to add, requiring people to tap the button instead of hold it down.2018 February 21, “Bullet Bloom: An FPS Tragedy”, in CritPoints:
16

Lifestyle Philippines, Plural normally, Slang A fan of Filipino girl group BINI.

17

Collective A group of ladybugs.

  • Thousands of the little red and black insects took flight at the same time, and the bloom stretched for 10 miles before they landed.2019 June 6, “A gaggle, a confusion and a conspiracy - bizarre animal collective group names”, in BBC:
Synonyms
blossom, flower, flush, glow
Derived terms
25 termsabloom, algal bloom, Bloomfield, bloom is off the peach, bloom is off the rose, bloomless, bloomly, bloomsome, bloom tea, bloomy, checkerbloom, choking bloom, embloom, in bloom, iron bloom, maybloom, nanobloom, phytoplankton bloom, sea bloom, sunbloom, superbloom, violet bloom, water bloom, winterbloom, zinc bloom

bloom

verb

Etymology From Middle English bloom (“a blossom”).

9 senses
  1. 1To cause to blossom; to make flourish.
  2. 2To bestow a bloom upon; to make blooming or radiant.
  3. 3Of a plant, to produce blooms; to open its blooms.
  4. 4To spread; to slowly expand like a field of flowers that…
  5. 5Of a person, business, etc, to flourish; to be in a…
  6. 6To bring out the flavor of a spice by cooking it in oil.
  7. 7To develop a layer of bloom (white, spotty areas of…
  8. 8To let carbon dioxide to escape from coffee in order to…
  9. 9To hydrate ingredients (such as gelatin or yeast) before…
1

To cause to blossom; to make flourish.

  • Charitable affection bloomed them.[1594], Richard Hooker, edited by J[ohn] S[penser], Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie, […], London: […] Iohn Windet, […], →OCLC, (please specify the page):
2

To bestow a bloom upon; to make blooming or radiant.

  • The Tree of Life[…]blooming Ambrosial Fruit Of vegetable Gold.1667, John Milton, “Book IV”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
  • Where are the songs of Spring? Ay, where are they? / Think not of them, thou hast thy music too,— / While barred clouds bloom the soft-dying day, / And touch the stubble-plains with rosy hue; [...]1819 September 19, John Keats, “To Autumn”, in Lamia, Isabella, the Eve of St. Agnes, and Other Poems, London: […] [Thomas Davison] for Taylor and Hessey, […], published 1820, →OCLC, stanza 3, page 138:
3

Of a plant, to produce blooms; to open its blooms.

  • A flower which once / In Paradise, fast by the tree of life, / Began to bloom.1667, John Milton, “Book I”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
4

Figuratively To spread; to slowly expand like a field of flowers that blossom in fits and spurts.

  • Shadows bloomed over the yard.
  • Anger bloomed up from his throat.
5

Figuratively Of a person, business, etc, to flourish; to be in a state of healthful, growing youth and vigour; to show beauty and freshness.

  • Nurse Cramer had a cute nose and a radiant, blooming complexion dotted with fetching sprays of adorable freckles that Yossarian detested.1961 November 10, Joseph Heller, “The Soldier in White”, in Catch-22 […], New York, N.Y.: Simon and Schuster, →OCLC, page 171:
  • The attacking three have also been allowed to bloom. Liberated from deep defensive duties Eden Hazard has become more expressive, more obviously, flashily complete.2017 May 13, Barney Ronay, “Antonio Conte’s brilliance has turned Chelsea’s pop-up team into champions”, in the Guardian:
1 more example
  • A better country blooms to view, / Beneath a brighter sky.a. 1788, John Logan, A Tale:
6

Cooking, Food, Lifestyle To bring out the flavor of a spice by cooking it in oil.

7

Cooking, Food, Lifestyle Of chocolate To develop a layer of bloom (white, spotty areas of cocoa butter) due to repeated warming and cooling.

8

Cooking, Food, Lifestyle To let carbon dioxide to escape from coffee in order to improve the taste.

9

Cooking, Food, Lifestyle To hydrate ingredients (such as gelatin or yeast) before using them.

Synonyms
blossom, flower, flourish, thrive
Derived terms
bloomer, late bloomer, let a thousand flowers bloom, night-blooming cereus, night-blooming jasmine, outbloom, overbloom, rebloom, unbloomed

bloom

noun
Etymology

From Middle English blome, from Old English blōma (“lump of metal”), from Proto-Germanic *blōmô (“flower”). Cognates Cognate with North Frisian Bloom, bluum, blööm (“flower”), Saterland Frisian Bloume (“flower”), West Frisian and Limburgish blom (“flower”), Bavarian Bleame, Bleaml, Bleampl (“flower”), Dutch bloem, blom (“flower”), German Blume (“flower”), Luxembourgish Blumm (“flower”), Vilamovian błum (“flower”), West Flemish blomme (“flower”), Yiddish בלום (blum, “flower”), Danish blomme (“flower”), Faroese blóma (“flower”), Icelandic blóm (“flower”), Norwegian Nynorsk blom, blome (“flower”), Swedish blomma (“flower”), Gothic 𐌱𐌻𐍉𐌼𐌰 (blōma, “lily”), Vandalic *bluma (“flower”); also Breton bleuñv (“flowers; flowering”), Cornish blejan, blejen, bleujen, bleujenn (“blossom, flower”), Irish bláth (“flower”), Manx blaa (“flower; heyday”), Scottish Gaelic blàth (“bloom, blossom, flower; consequence, effect; heyday”), Welsh blodyn (“flower”), Latin flōs (“blossom, flower”), Greek φύλλο (fýllo, “leaf; blade; sheet; foil, plate”), Armenian բող (boġ), բոխի (boxi, “a kind of bitter field-plant, probably horse fennel, Hippomarathrum or a kind of fennel or wild parsley”), Tocharian A pält (“leaf; blade”), Tocharian B pilta (“leaf; blade”), Sanskrit फुल्ल (phulla, “full-blown flower”), पुल्ल (pulla, “flower”). Related to blow, blade, blead; also related to flower, foil, and belladonna.

1

The spongy mass of metal formed in a furnace by the smelting process.

  • These metallic bodies gradually increasing in volume finally conglomerate into a larger mass, the bloom, which is extracted from the furnace with tongs.1957, H.R. Schubert, History of the British Iron and Steel Industry, page 26:
Derived terms
bloomery, blooming

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

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