blunder

Where does the word "blunder" come from? It comes from Old Norse blunda, passing through Middle English before entering English (1700s).

Blunder’s story begins in Old Norse: blunda meant “to shut one's eyes.” To shut the eyes; related to Norwegian blunde 'to doze'. By 1300s, the word had taken hold in Middle English as blunderen. Used of moving blindly or stumbling about, as someone with eyes shut would. It reached English by 1700s as blunder. The noun for a careless, embarrassing mistake grew out of the image of blind stumbling. Today, blunder means a stupid or careless mistake; to make one.

1. Stage 1 · Old Norse · medieval blunda "to shut one's eyes", to shut the eyes; related to Norwegian blunde 'to doze'.
2. Stage 2 · Middle English · 1300s blunderen "to stumble about blindly", used of moving blindly or stumbling about, as someone with eyes shut would.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1700s blunder "a stupid or careless mistake", the noun for a careless, embarrassing mistake grew out of the image of blind stumbling.