ble

See also: BLE and blé

Translingual

Symbol

ble

1. (international standards) ISO 639-3 language code for Balanta-Kentohe.

See also

• Wiktionary’s coverage of Balanta-Kentohe terms

Catalan

FWOTD – 13 November 2021

Etymology

Possibly from a reconstructed *bledino-, a derivation of Proto-Celtic *bledyos (“wolf”). Among the many common names in the languages of Europe for Verbascum thapsus (the common mullein), whose long leaves were historically used to make wicks, are the equivalents of “wolf's tail” or “fox's tail”. (For example, Welsh cynffon llwynog (“fox's tail”), dialectal Catalan cua de guilla (“fox's tail”).)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [ˈblɛ]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [ˈblə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ˈble]

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

Noun

ble m (plural blens)

1. wick

   Synonym: metxa

   llum de ble ― candle, oil lamp (literally, “wick lamp”)

   • 1900, Marià Vayreda i Vila, “Rufagades”, in Sanch Nova:

     —Perque no'ns hi ajuda com ara'l sol. Que's creu que'l bevem nosaltres el ví? Nosaltres no soms més que'l blè de la llumanera. Si falta l'oli'l blè's consumeix y'l llum s'apaga.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Derived terms

• blenera

Further reading

• “ble”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “ble”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025
• “ble” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “ble” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Danish

Etymology

From Old Norse blæja (“sheet, blanket”). Compare Norwegian Bokmål bleie, Icelandic bleia, Swedish blöja.

Noun

ble c (singular definite bleen, plural indefinite bleer)

1. diaper, nappy; An absorbent garment worn by a baby, or by someone who is incontinent.

Inflection

Declension of ble

common gender	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	ble	bleen	bleer	bleerne
genitive	bles	bleens	bleers	bleernes

Descendants

• Icelandic: bleia, bleyja

Haitian Creole

Etymology

From French bleu (“blue”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ble/

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

ble

1. blue

Lakota

Etymology

Cognate with Dakota bdé

Noun

ble

1. lake

Louisiana Creole

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /blø/
• Rhymes: -ø

Adjective

ble

1. alternative form of blé (“blue”)

Noun

ble

1. alternative form of blé (“blue”)

See also

Colors in Louisiana Creole · koulær-yé (layout · text)

blan	gri	nwa, nwar
rouj	zoranj; brun, maron	jonn, jònn
	vè, vèr, vær, væt	vè fonsé
sèrsèl		blé, ble
vyolé, vyolèt	lila	ròz, roz

Neapolitan

Alternative forms

• blo

Noun

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ble ? (plural [please provide])

1. blue

Norwegian Bokmål

Verb

ble

1. past of bli

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology 1

From Old Norse bleðja.

Verb

ble (present tense bler, past tense bledde, past participle bledd, present participle bleande, imperative ble)

1. (ambitransitive) (while reading) to turn the page, to sift through a book, pamphlet or other

   Synonym: bla

2. (transitive) to sort

Related terms

• blad n

Etymology 2

Verb

ble (present tense bler, past tense blei, supine blitt)

1. (Stavanger) eye dialect spelling of bli

Welsh

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bleː/
• Rhymes: -eː

Etymology 1

From earlier p'le, from pa le (“which place”), mutated so as to show adverbial usage.

Adverb

ble

1. where

   Synonyms: le, lle, pa le, ymhle

Usage notes

Mutation of ble is unusual in that its mutated forms derive from the original p'le, resulting in ble (soft), mhle (nasal) and phle (aspirate). Usage of mhle and phle is limited, if at all found in the case of the latter, with users preferring an unmutable ble in all contexts.

Etymology 2

Noun

ble

1. soft mutation of ple (“plea”)

Mutation

Mutated forms of ple

radical	soft	nasal	aspirate
ple	ble	mhle	phle

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Welsh.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.