- bleak
- c.1300, from O.N. bleikr "pale" (see bleach). Sense of "cheerless" is c.1719 figurative extension. The same Gmc. root produced the O.E. blac "pale," but this died out, probably from confusion with blęc "black;" but bleikr persisted, with a sense of "bare" as well as "pale." Bleakness is recorded from 1600.