ble

See also: BLE and blé

Catalan

Etymology

Possibly from a reconstructed *bledino-, a derivation of Proto-Celtic *bledyos (“wolf”). Among the many common names in the languages of Europe for Verbascum thapsus (the common mullein), whose long leaves were historically used to make wicks, are the equivalents of “wolf's tail” or “fox's tail”. (For example, Welsh cynffon llwynog (“fox's tail”), dialectal Catalan cua de guilla (“fox's tail”).)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [ˈblɛ]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [ˈblə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ˈble]

Noun

ble m (plural blens)

1. wick

   Synonym: metxa

   llum de ble ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)

   • 1900, Marià Vayreda i Vila, “Rufagades”, in Sanch Nova:

     —Perque no'ns hi ajuda com ara'l sol. Que's creu que'l bevem nosaltres el ví? Nosaltres no soms més que'l blè de la llumanera. Si falta l'oli'l blè's consumeix y'l llum s'apaga.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Derived terms

• blenera

Further reading

• “ble” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “ble”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
• “ble” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “ble” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

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Danish

Etymology

From Old Norse blæja (“sheet, blanket”). Compare Norwegian Bokmål bleie, Swedish blöja

Noun

ble c (singular definite bleen, plural indefinite bleer)

1. diaper, nappy; An absorbent garment worn by a baby, or by someone who is incontinent.

Inflection

Declension of ble

common gender	Singular		Plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	ble	bleen	bleer	bleerne
genitive	bles	bleens	bleers	bleernes

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Haitian Creole

Etymology

From French bleu (“blue”).

Adjective

ble

1. blue

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Lakota

Etymology

Cognate with Dakota bdé

Noun

ble

1. lake

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Neapolitan

Alternative forms

• blo

Noun

ble ? (plural [please provide])

1. blue

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Norwegian Bokmål

Verb

ble

1. Template:past tense of

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Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology 1

From Old Norse bleðja.

Verb

ble (present tense bler, past tense bledde, past participle bledd, present participle bleande, imperative ble)

1. (transitive, intransitive) (while reading) to turn the page, to sift through a book, pamphlet or other

   Synonym: bla

2. (transitive) to sort

Related terms

• blad n

Etymology 2

Verb

ble (present tense bler, past tense blei, supine blitt)

1. (Stavanger) Eye dialect spelling of bli.

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Welsh

Alternative forms

• le
• lle
• pa le

Etymology

Contraction of ba le from pa le (“which place”), mutated so as to show adverbial usage.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bleː/

Adverb

ble

1. where

Mutation

Mutation of ble is unusual in that its mutated forms derive from the original pa le, resulting in ble (soft), mhle (soft) and phle (aspirate). Usage of mhle and phle is limited, if at all found in the case of the latter, with users preferring an unmutable ble in all contexts.