blet

English

WOTD – 4 September 2009

Bletted medlar (Mespilus germanica) in a trug

Etymology

Borrowed from French blettir, coined by John Lindley.

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /blɛt/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛt

Verb

blet (third-person singular simple present blets, present participle bletting, simple past and past participle bletted)

1. To undergo or cause to undergo bletting, a fermentation process in certain fruit beyond ripening.
   • c. 1835, B. Maund, The Botanic Garden, Or, Magazine of Flowering Plants, Volume 6, Simpkin & Marshall, page 115,

     Bletting is in particular a special alteration; it appears that the more austere a fruit is before this is brought on, the more it is capable of bletting regularly.

   • 2011, Mark Diacono, Fruit: River Cottage Handbook No.9, Bloomsbury Publishing, unnumbered page,

     You can also hasten the bletting process by giving firm medlars a night in the freezer. I usually pick some medlars early to blet a little indoors, as this is perfect for making jelly, whereas fully soft fruit is ideal for any other use.

   • 2021, Adele Nozedar, The Tree Forager, Watkins Media, unnumbered page,

     For example, you wouldn't be happy if you bit into a medlar. They need to be bletted (left to go over-ripe) before you can eat them but, once bletted, medlars taste sweet – a little bit like dates. […] To be frank, bletting is a more polite word for "rotting".

Related terms

• bletting

Translations

To undergo bletting, a fermentation process in certain fruit beyond ripening

• Albanian: ndulket (sq)
• French: blettir (fr)

See also

• ripening
• rotting

Anagrams

• Belt, belt

Catalan

Etymology

Inherited from Latin blitum, from Ancient Greek βλίτον (blíton).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [ˈblɛt]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [ˈblət]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ˈblet]

Noun

blet m (plural blets)

1. goosefoot

Derived terms

• blet blanc
• blet de paret
• blet moll
• blet pudent
• blet punxent

 

Related terms

• bleda

Further reading

• “blet” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

French

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

blet (feminine blette, masculine plural blets, feminine plural blettes)

1. overripe

Further reading

• “blet”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Lithuanian

Alternative forms

• bliat, ble

Etymology

Borrowed from Russian блядь (bljadʹ).

Interjection

blet

1. (vulgar) used as filler or intensifier

   Ką tu padarei blet?

   What the fuck did you do?

   Žinojau, blet! Žinojau!

   I fucking knew this!

Usage notes

• Sometimes used in conjunction with kurva, a feature most likely unique to Lithuanian swearing.

Old French

Alternative forms

• bled, blé

Etymology

Inherited from Early Medieval Latin bladum.

Noun

blet oblique singular, m (oblique plural blez or bletz, nominative singular blez or bletz, nominative plural blet)

1. wheat, corn

Descendants

• French: blé