blindfold

English

Etymology

From Middle English blyndefolde, blyndfuld, blynfold, blindfeld, blindfelt, yblynfeld, variants of y-blyndfalled, blyndfelled, etc. ("stricken blind, blindfolded"), past participle of Middle English blindfellen (“to strike blind”), from blind (“to blind”) and fellen (“to fell”), equivalent to blind +‎ felled. Later influenced by the unrelated verb fold.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈblaɪndfəʊld/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

blindfold (plural blindfolds)

1. A covering, usually a bandage, for the eyes, blocking light to the eyes.

   I put a blindfold over my boyfriend's eyes and told him I had a surprise for him.

2. (sometimes figurative) Anything that obscures the vision.

Hyponyms

• eyeshade
• sleep mask

Derived terms

• blindfold chess

 

Translations

a covering, usually a bandage, for the eyes

• Bulgarian: превръзка за очите f (prevrǎzka za očite)
• Catalan: bena (ca)
• Cherokee: ᏗᎦᏚᏢᏗ (digadutlvdi)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 眼罩 (zh) (yǎnzhào)

• Danish: bind for øjnene
• Dutch: blinddoek (nl)
• Esperanto: okulkovro
• Finnish: silmäside
• French: bandeau (fr) m (sur les yeux)
• Galician: venda f
• German: Augenbinde (de) f
• Indonesian: penutup mata
• Italian: benda (it), bendaggio m, bendatura f
• Japanese: アイマスク (aimasuku), 目隠し (ja) (めかくし, mekakushi)
• Korean: 안대(眼帶) (ko) (andae), 눈가리개 (nun'garigae)
• Portuguese: venda (pt) f
• Russian: повя́зка на глаза́ f (povjázka na glazá), повя́зка (ru) f (povjázka)
• Spanish: venda (es) f
• Swedish: ögonbindel (sv) c
• Tagalog: piring
• Ukrainian: пов'я́зка на очі f (povʺjázka na oči)
• Welsh: mwgwd m

something that obscures vision (literally or metaphorically)

• French: voile (fr) m, bandeau (fr) m
• Italian: bendaggio m, bendatura f
• Portuguese: venda (pt) f
• Russian: шоры (ru) pl (šory)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Spanish: ^{(please verify)} venda (es) f

Adjective

blindfold (not comparable)

1. Having the eyes covered so as to obscure vision
2. Thoughtless; reckless.

Adverb

blindfold (not comparable)

1. With the eyes covered so as to obscure vision.
   • 1779, James Robertson, edited by John Sinclair, Statistical Account of Scotland, volume 11, page 620:

     They put all the bits of cake into a bonnet. Every one, blind-fold, draws out a portion.

   • 1962 April, J. N. Faulkner, “Summer Saturday at Waterloo”, in Modern Railways, page 258:

     The commuters from the suburbs come unencumbered with luggage, children and prams, and can almost be relied upon to find their way blindfold to their trains.

Verb

blindfold (third-person singular simple present blindfolds, present participle blindfolding, simple past and past participle blindfolded)

1. To cover the eyes, in order to make someone unable to see.

   Children need to be blindfolded before they hit the piñata.

2. To obscure understanding or comprehension.

Translations

To cover the eyes, in order to make someone unable to see

• Arabic: غَمَّى (ḡammā)
• Bulgarian: завързвам очите на (zavǎrzvam očite na)
• Finnish: sitoa silmät
• French: bander les yeux
• Galician: vendar os ollos
• German: die Augen verbinden
• Italian: bendare gli occhi
• Khmer: ចងភ្នែក (cɑɑng phnɛɛk)
• Portuguese: vendar (pt)
• Russian: завя́зывать глаза́ (zavjázyvatʹ glazá)
• Swedish: binda för ögonen på

To obscure understanding or comprehension

• German: blind machen
• Portuguese: vendar (pt)
• Swedish: förblinda (sv)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Spanish: ^{(please verify)} vendar (es)

References

• “blindfold”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.