Trace the journey of words

Today it means

blend

to mix different things together to form a single substance or whole

Drag to pan · scroll to zoom
Drag to rotate

Where does the word "blend" come from? It comes from Old Norse blanda, and was adopted directly into English (1300s).

Read the full story

Where does the word "blend" come from? It comes from Old Norse blanda, and was adopted directly into English (1300s).

Blend’s story begins in Old Norse: blanda meant “to mix together.” The same Norse verb may have influenced English 'blind'. It reached English by 1300s as blend. Settled as the standard English word for mixing things together. Today, blend means to mix different things together to form a single substance or whole.

  1. Stage 1 · Old Norse · medieval blanda "to mix together", the same Norse verb may have influenced English 'blind'.
  2. Stage 2 · English · 1300s blend "to mix different things together thoroughly", settled as the standard English word for mixing things together.

Browse by origin