Blench definition

blĕnch
blenches
See word origin
Frequency:
To draw back or shy away, as from fear; flinch.
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(dial., brit.) To shrink back, as in fear; flinch; quail.
verb
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(intransitive) To shrink; start back; give way; flinch; turn aside or fly off.
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(intransitive) (of the eye) To quail.
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To draw back from; shrink; avoid; elude; deny, as from fear.
verb
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verb
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(intransitive) To fly off; to turn aside.
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noun
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(obsolete) To blanch.
verb
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(chiefly dial., brit.) To make or become pale; whiten; bleach.
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Origin of blench

  • Middle English blenchen from Old English blencan to deceive bhel-1 in Indo-European roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • From Middle English blenchen, from Old English blencan (“to deceive, cheat”), from Proto-Germanic *blankijaną (“to deceive”), from Proto-Indo-European *bhleg- (“to burn, shine, scorch”). Cognate with Icelandic blekkja (“to deceive, cheat, impose upon”).

    From Wiktionary

  • From Old French blanchir (“to bleach”).

    From Wiktionary