blate

1
[ bleyt ]

adjectiveChiefly Scot.
  1. bashful; shy.

Origin of blate

1
before 1000; Old English blāt livid, pallid, (of a sound) low (not found in ME)

Other words from blate

  • blately, adverb
  • blateness, noun

Words Nearby blate

Other definitions for blate (2 of 2)

blate2
[ bleyt ]

verb (used without object),blat·ed, blat·ing.

Origin of blate

2
1855–60; perhaps dialectal variant of bleat (cf. great)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use blate in a sentence

  • We're no blate at askin' the lawin', although some folk are unco' slow at payin' o't. It's just four-and-six.

    Scotch Wit and Humor | W. H. (Walter Henry) Howe
  • "You're too blate, Colin," he said, and then he put his arm through his wife's and gave her a squeeze to take her into his joke.

    John Splendid | Neil Munro
  • He's 'no blate,' as they used to say in Scotland, and made himself quite at home to-night.

    Wives and Daughters | Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell
  • But I dinna ken the way ot, father; I neer did sic a thing a my days; odd, Im unco blate to tryt.

    The Entail | John Galt
  • But the compliment is like the chariot-wheels o Pharaoh, sae dreigh o drawing, that I canna afford to be blate wi you ony langer.

    The Entail | John Galt