c. 1300, pur blind "entirely blind," as a noun, "a blind person," later "partially blind, blind in one eye" (late 14c.), the main modern sense, from blind (adj.) + pur "entirely, completely, absolutely."
The adverb forming the first element is from an identical Middle English adjective pur "unadulterated, unmixed" (c. 1300), usually explained as from Old French pur and Latin purus (see pure). It might have been influenced by the Anglo-French perfective prefix pur- (see pur-). The sense of "dull" is recorded from 1530s.
"made blind," 1590s, past-participle adjective from blind (v.). Figurative sense is earlier (1530s).
also blind-man, "blind person," early 14c., from blind (adj.) + man (n.). The children's game of blindman's buff attested from 1580s; the blindfolded person tries to catch the others, "who, on their part, push him about and make sport with him" [OED]; from buff "a buffet, blow" (see buffet (n.2)). Alternative form blindman's bluff is by 1880s. Such a game formerly was called hoodman-blind (1560s).
"system of embossed printing used as an alphabet for the blind," 1853, from Louis Braille (1809-1852), French musician and teacher, blind from age 3, who devised it c. 1830.
also sand-blind, "half-blind, partially blind, dim-sighted," c. 1400, probably altered (by influence of unrelated sand (n.), perhaps as though "having grit in the eyes"), from Old English *samblind, with blind (adj.) + first element from West Germanic *sami-, from PIE *semi- (see semi-).
Now archaic or obsolete. Compare Old English samlæred "half-taught, badly instructed," samstorfen "half-dead," also later sam-hale "in poor health," literally "half-whole;" sam-sodden "half-cooked." Also compare purblind.
"blind tube" (anatomical), 1728, from Modern Latin, from Latin deverticulum "a bypath," from devertere "to turn aside" (see divert). Related: Diverticulitis (1900).
formerly also enveigle, etc., late 15c., "to blind (someone's) judgment," apparently an alteration of French aveugler "delude, make blind," from Vulgar Latin *aboculus "without sight, blind," from Latin ab- "off, away from" (see ab-) + oculus "eye" (from PIE root *okw- "to see"). The Latin word is a loan-translation of Greek ap ommaton "without eyes." Meaning "to win over by deceit, seduce" is 1530s. Related: Inveigler; inveiglement.
"made of stone," Old English (which also had stænan "stonen"); see stone (n.). As an intensifying adjective recorded from 1935, first recorded in African-American vernacular, probably from earlier use in phrases like stone blind (late 14c., literally "blind as a stone"), stone deaf, stone-cold (1590s), etc. Stone cold sober dates from 1937.
