Note: these 'words' (valid or invalid) are all the permutations of the word blue. These words are obtained by scrambling the letters in blue.
Definitions and meaning of blue
blue
Alternative forms
blew, blewe(obsolete)
Pronunciation
(UK, US, Canada) enPR: blo͞o, IPA(key): /bluː/
(Wales, Ottawa Valley) IPA(key): /blɪʊ̯/
(obsolete) enPR: blyo͞o, IPA(key): /bljuː/
Homophone: blew
Rhymes: -uː
Etymology 1
From Middle Englishblewe, from Anglo-Normanblew(“blue”), from Middle Frenchbleu, from Old Frenchblöe, bleve, blef(“blue”), from Frankish*blāu(“blue”) (perhaps through a Medieval Latinblāvus, blāvius(“blue”)), from Proto-Germanic*blēwaz(“blue, dark blue”), from Proto-Indo-European*bʰlēw-(“yellow, blond, grey”). Cognate with dialectal English blow(“blue”), Scotsblue, blew(“blue”), North Frisianbla, blö(“blue”), Saterland Frisianblau(“blue”), Dutchblauw(“blue”), Germanblau(“blue”), Danish, Norwegian and Swedishblå(“blue”), Icelandicblár(“blue”), Latinflāvus(“yellow”), Middle Irishblá(“yellow”). Doublet of blow.
Possibly related also to English blee(“colour”), from Old Englishblēo(“colour”); but direct derivatives of Proto-Germanic*blēwaz(“blue, dark blue”) in Old English include: Old Englishblāw and blēo(“blue”), Old Englishblǣwen(“bluish, light-blue”), blǣhǣwen(“blue-coloured, bluish, violet or purple colour”, literally “blue-hued”). There seems to be a parallel connection in Germanic between words for blue and colour, dually exemplified by Proto-West Germanic *blīu(“colour, blee”) and *blāu(“blue”); and Proto-Germanic*hiwją(“colour, hue”) and *hēwijaz(“blue, purple”).
The sense "obscene, pornographic" is apparently from the colour; various theories exist as to how it arose, including that it is from the colour of the envelopes used to contain missives of the censors and managers to vaudevillian performers on objectionable material from their acts that needed to be excised. (Can this(+) etymology be sourced?)
Adjective
blue (comparativebluerormore blue, superlativebluestormost blue)
Of a blue hue.
(informal) Depressed, melancholic, sad.
Having a bluish or purplish shade of the skin due to a lack of oxygen to the normally deep red blood cells.
Pale, without redness or glare; said of a flame.
(politics) Supportive of, run by (a member of), pertaining to, or dominated by a political party represented by the colour blue.
(US politics) Supportive of, run by (a member of), pertaining to, or dominated by the Democratic Party. [late 20th c.]
(Australian politics) Supportive of or related to the Liberal Party.
(UK politics) Supportive of or related to the Conservative Party.
(astronomy) Of the higher-frequency region of the part of the electromagnetic spectrum which is relevant in the specific observation.
(of steak) Extra rare; left very raw and cold.
(of a dog or cat) Having a coat of fur of a slaty gray shade.
(archaic) Severe or overly strict in morals; gloomy.
(pornographic):adult, X-rated; see also Thesaurus:pornographic
Antonyms
(antonym(s) of "of a blue hue"):nonblue, unblue
(antonym(s) of "having blue as its colour charge"):antiblue
Descendants
Tok Pisin: blu
→ Fiji Hindi: bulu
→ Shona: bhuluu
→ Somali: buluug
→ Swahili: bluu, buluu
→ Tooro: bururu
Translations
Noun
blue (countable and uncountable, pluralblues)
(countable and uncountable) The colour of the clear sky or the deep sea which is midway between green and cyan in the visible spectrum and one of the primary additive colours.
Anything coloured blue, especially to distinguish it from similar objects differing only in color.
I don't like red Smarties. Have you got a blue?
A blue dye or pigment.
(uncountable) Blue clothing.
The boys in blue marched to the pipers.
(in the plural) A blue uniform. See blues.
A member of a sports team that wears blue colours; (in the plural) a nickname for the team as a whole. See also blues.
Come on, you blues!
(baseball, slang) An umpire, in reference to the typical dark blue color of the umpire's uniform. Sometimes perceived by umpires as derogatory when used by players or coaches while disputing a call.
He was safe! Terrible call, blue!
Sporting colours awarded by a university or other institution for sporting achievement, such as representing one's university, especially and originally at Oxford and Cambridge Universities in England. See also full blue, half blue.
He excelled at rowing and received a blue in the sport at Oxford.
A person who has received such sporting colours.
He was a blue in rugby at Cambridge.
(slang) A member of law enforcement.
(now historical) A bluestocking.
The sky, literally or figuratively.
The balloon floated up into the blue.
His request for leave came out of the blue.
The ocean; deep waters.
The far distance; a remote or distant place.
A dog or cat with a slaty gray coat.
(snooker) One of the colour balls used in snooker, with a value of five points.
(entomology) Any of the butterflies of the subfamily Polyommatinae in the family Lycaenidae, most of which have blue on their wings.
A bluefish.
(Australia, colloquial) An argument or brawl.
2004, Tim Winton, The Turning (short stories), Picador UK Paperback edition 2006. Short story, 'Small Mercies' (at p.91):
"I had a blue with Dad," said Fay. "He wanted to drive us, I wanted to walk."
A liquid with an intense blue colour, added to a laundry wash to prevent yellowing of white clothes.
Synonyms:blueing, bluer
Any of several processes to protect metal against rust.
(British) A type of firecracker.
(particle physics) One of the three color charges for quarks.
(UK) A member or supporter of the Conservative Party.
He is a true blue.
Translations
Further reading
Blue (colour) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
Verb
blue (third-person singular simple presentblues, present participleblueingorbluing, simple past and past participleblued)
(ergative) To make or become blue; to turn blue.
Synonym:bluen
(transitive, metallurgy) To treat the surface of steel so that it is passivated chemically and becomes more resistant to rust.
(transitive, laundry) To brighten by treating with blue (laundry aid).
(intransitive, Australia, slang) To fight, brawl, or argue.