Old English bl?can "bleach, whiten," from Proto-Germanic *blaikjan "to make white" (cognates: Old Saxon blek, Old Norse bleikr, Dutch bleek, Old High German bleih, German bleich "pale;" Old Norse bleikja, Dutch bleken, German bleichen "to bleach"), from PIE root *bhel- (1) "to shine, flash, burn" (cognates: Sanskrit bhrajate "shines;" Greek phlegein "to burn;" Latin flamma "flame," fulmen "lightning," fulgere "to shine, flash," flagrare "to burn;" Old Church Slavonic belu "white;" Lithuanian balnas "pale").
The same root probably produced black; perhaps because both black and white are colorless, or because both are associated with burning. Compare Old English scimian, related to the source of shine (n.), meaning both "to shine" and "to dim, grow dusky, grow dark." Related: Bleached; bleaching.
bleach (n.)
"act of bleaching," 1887; "a bleaching agent," 1898, probably directly from bleach (v.). The Old English noun bl?ce meant "leprosy;" Late Old English also had bl?co "paleness," and Middle English had blech "whitening or bleaching agent."
雙語例句
1. The tree's roots are stripped and hung to season and bleach.
樹根剝皮后掛起來風干曬白。
來自柯林斯例句
2. Remove stains by soaking in a mild solution of bleach.