bleach

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   the whiteness that results from removing the color from something

   A complete bleach usually requires several applications.

2. 2
   verb

   to make whiter or lighter

   I was asked to bleach the laundry.

3. 3
   verb

   to remove color from

   I bleached my hair.

From Middle English blechen, from Old English blǣċan (“to bleach, whiten”), from Proto-West Germanic *blaikijan, from Proto-Germanic *blaikijaną, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- (“to shine”). Cognate with Dutch bleken (“to bleach”), German bleichen (“to bleach”), Danish blege, Swedish bleka (“to bleach”). Related to Old English blāc (“pale”) (English blake; compare also bleak).

Topics