blue

A1 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /blu/ UK /bluː/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like brew /l/ vs /r/

Freq #791

Meanings

1

adj
Having the colour of a clear sky or the sea.

She wore a blue dress to the party.
2

noun
The colour of a clear sky or the sea.

The walls were painted a soft blue.
3

adj
Sad or unhappy.

He felt a bit blue after his friends left.
4

adj
Relating to sex in a rude or improper way.

They were watching a blue movie late at night.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

aqua aquamarine azure ceruleancyanindigo navy pornographic royal sapphire teal turquoise

Opposites

antiblue conservativenonbluered republicanunblue

Word family

Forms bluedblueingbluerbluestbluinggreeny-blue

Derived forms ant-blueantiblueblack-and-bluebleenblu-rayblue-and-whiteblue-ballblue-ballerblue-ballingblue-beardedblue-blackblue-blood

Related forms cobalt cornflower denim greenhavasupaiorange periwinkle rainbow redrgbsapphire violet

Appears in

Phrases (7)

See all

blue jeans
casual trousers made from blue denim fabric

Adjective + noun
blue tit
a small European songbird with blue feathers on its head, wings, and tail

Adjective + noun
cerulean blue
a blue pigment with a slight green tint used in painting

Adjective + noun
ultramarine blue
a rich blue pigment traditionally obtained from lapis lazuli

Adjective + noun
incredibly blue
Blue to a striking or surprising degree.

Adverb + adjective
pale blue
a light, delicate shade of blue

Adjective + noun

Idioms (3)

See all

Simplified etymology

Blue is a Middle English word ultimately derived from ancient Germanic; French bleu has the same origin. It is also related to the blae- in blaeberry, a Scottish and northern English name for the bilberry.

Etymology

From Middle English blewe, from Anglo-Norman blew (“blue”), from Middle French bleu, from Old French blöe, bleve, blef (“blue”), from Frankish *blāu (“blue”) (perhaps through a Late Latin blāvus, blāvius (“blue”) attested from Isidore of Seville), from Proto-Germanic *blēwaz (“blue, dark blue”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰlēw- (“yellow, blond, grey”). Cognate with dialectal English blow (“blue”), Scots blue, blew (“blue”), North Frisian bla, blö (“blue”), Saterland Frisian blau (“blue”), Dutch blauw (“blue”), German blau (“blue”), Danish, Norwegian and Swedish blå (“blue”), Icelandic blár (“b…

blewe Middle English blew xno bleu Middle French bloe Old French *blāu frk blāvus la-lat *blēwaz Proto-Germanic *bʰlēw- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

External links

# blue

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A1
**Part of speech:** adj, noun
**IPA (US):** /blu/
**IPA (UK):** /bluː/
**Frequency rank:** 791

## Meanings
1. Having the colour of a clear sky or the sea.
2. The colour of a clear sky or the sea.
3. Sad or unhappy.
4. Relating to sex in a rude or improper way.

## Examples
- She wore a blue dress to the party.
- The walls were painted a soft blue.
- He felt a bit blue after his friends left.
- They were watching a blue movie late at night.

## Synonyms
- aqua
- aquamarine
- azure
- cerulean
- cyan
- indigo
- navy
- pornographic
- royal
- sapphire
- teal
- turquoise

## Antonyms
- antiblue
- conservative
- nonblue
- red
- republican
- unblue

## Derived Forms
- ant-blue
- antiblue
- black-and-blue
- bleen
- blu-ray
- blue-and-white
- blue-ball
- blue-baller
- blue-balling
- blue-bearded
- blue-black
- blue-blood

## Related Forms
- cobalt
- cornflower
- denim
- green
- havasupai
- orange
- periwinkle
- rainbow
- red
- rgb
- sapphire
- violet

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: blewe
- Root: blew
- Root: bleu
- Root: bloe
- Root: *blāu
- Root: blāvus
- Root: *blēwaz
- Root: *bʰlēw-

## Etymology
From Middle English blewe, from Anglo-Norman blew (“blue”), from Middle French bleu, from Old French blöe, bleve, blef (“blue”), from Frankish *blāu (“blue”) (perhaps through a Late Latin blāvus, blāvius (“blue”) attested from Isidore of Seville), from Proto-Germanic *blēwaz (“blue, dark blue”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰlēw- (“yellow, blond, grey”). Cognate with dialectal English blow (“blue”), Scots blue, blew (“blue”), North Frisian bla, blö (“blue”), Saterland Frisian blau (“blue”), Dutch blauw (“blue”), German blau (“blue”), Danish, Norwegian and Swedish blå (“blue”), Icelandic blár (“b…

## AI Etymology
Blue comes from Middle English blewe, from Anglo-Norman blew (“blue”), from Middle French bleu, from Old French blöe, bleve, blef (“blue”), from Frankish *blāu (“blue”) (perhaps through a Late Latin blāvus, blāvius (“blue”) attested from Isidore of Seville), from Proto-Germanic *blēwaz (“blue, dark blue”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰlēw- (“yellow, blond, grey”).

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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