blotch
UK /blɒtʃ/ · US /blɑt͡ʃ/ noun, verb
Forms blotches blotching blotched
- noun An uneven patch of color or discoloration.
- noun An irregularly shaped area.
- noun (figuratively) Imperfection; blemish on one’s reputation, stain.
- noun Any of various crop diseases that cause the plant to form spots.
- noun A bright or dark spot on old film caused by dirt and loss of the gelatin covering the film, due to age and poor film quality.
- noun A dark spot on the skin; a pustule.
- noun (slang) Blotting paper.
- verb (transitive) To mark with blotches.
- verb (intransitive) To develop blotches, to become blotchy.
Synonyms
Etymology
Uncertain. Perhaps a blend of blot + botch.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A blot or spot, as of color or of ink; especially a large or irregular spot. Also Fig.; as, a moral blotch.
- noun A large pustule, or a coarse eruption.
Etymology [Cf. OE. blacche in blacchepot blacking pot, akin to black, as bleach is akin to bleak. See Black, a., or cf. Blot a spot.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “blotch”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details