(also intr)to remove colour from, or (of colour) to be removed; whiten; fadethe sun blanched the carpet; over the years the painting blanched
(usually intr)to become or cause to become pale, as with sickness or fear
to plunge tomatoes, nuts, etc, into boiling water to loosen the skin
to plunge (meat, green vegetables, etc) in boiling water or bring to the boil in water in order to whiten, preserve the natural colour, or reduce or remove a bitter or salty taste
to cause (celery, chicory, etc) to grow free of chlorophyll by the exclusion of sunlight
metallurgyto whiten (a metal), usually by treating it with an acid or by coating it with tin
(tr, usually foll by over) to attempt to conceal something
Word Origin for blanch
C14: from Old French blanchir from blanc white; see blank
"to make white, turn pale," c.1400, from Old French blanchir "to whiten, wash," from blanc "white" (11c.; see blank (adj.)). Originally "to remove the hull of (almonds, etc.) by soaking." Intransitive sense of "to turn white" is from 1768. Related: Blanched; blanching.
