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bludgeon (v.)
1802, "to hit with a bludgeon (n.)," which is of unknown origin. Related: Bludgeoned; bludgeoning.
bludgeon (n.)
"short club, heavy stick with one end thicker than the other," 1730, of unknown origin.
A plausible conjecture connects it with D[utch] blusden, blusten bruise, beat .... The E. word, if from this source may have been introduced as a cant term in the Elizabethan period, along with many other cant terms from the D[utch] which never, or not until much later, emerged in literary use. [Century Dictionary]
updated on October 17, 2022
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Dictionary entries near bludgeon
blubbering
blubber-lip
blubbery
bluchers
bludge
bludgeon
bludger
blue
blue laws
blue moon
blue peter