English
blush
Blush comes from Old English blysċan ‘to be red’.
- Old Englishc. 450–1150blysċan1‘to be red’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500blusshen1
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1591–1592blush1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English blush
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1591–1592, William Shakespeare, The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, […]: “Why, Warwick, canst thou speak against thy liege, Whom…”.
Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.
Lineage
- Old Englishc. 450–1150blysċanWiktionary, English blush‘to be red’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500blusshenWiktionary, English blush
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1591–1592blushWiktionary, English blush. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1591–1592, William Shakespeare, The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, […]: “Why, Warwick, canst thou speak against thy liege, Whom…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- ‘to sound’
ball, bowl, bell, bull, bold, flame, bald, boil, bale, blaze, blizzard, bolster, bleach, budge, sabha, blur, bola, phlegm, bolero, blemish, phlox, blithe, phallus, blain, bleat, 72 more
Today it means
noun An act of blushing; a pink or red glow on the face caused by embarrassment, shame, shyness, love, etc.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “blush”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Old English blysċan / blush