purblind

/ˈpɜːblaɪnd/

Etymology

The adjective is derived from Middle English purblind (“(adjective) completely blind; blind in one eye; near-sighted; (noun) near-sighted animal, specifically a hare”) [and other forms], possibly from pur, pure (“completely, entirely”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pewH- (“to be clean; pure”); influenced by pur- (prefix meaning ‘completely; forward; in advance’)) + blind (“sightless, blind”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰlendʰ- (“to blend, mix up; to make cloudy or opaque”)). Adjective sense 4.1 (“completely blind”) was the original sense. The senses denoting partial blindness are possibly the result of confusion of the first element pur- with poor, perhaps through folk etymology. (Compare parboil regarding per versus pars.) The noun and verb are derived from the adjectiv

purblind means of a person: having impaired vision; partially blind; dim-sighted. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 71 out of 100.

Why this word is great

PURBLIND — [Adjective] Having impaired vision, especially partial or dim sight, or lacking in discernment or understanding. From Middle English purblind, possibly from pur (an obsolete adverb meaning 'completely, purely', from Old French pur, ultimately from Latin purus, 'pure') + blind, thus originally meaning 'completely blind'. Unlike "myopic," which clinically specifies nearsightedness, or "obtuse," which directly denotes intellectual dullness, purblind is a crepuscular word, dwelling in the half-light where the literal and figurative bleed into one another. It is the world seen through a rain-smeared window at dusk, the futile squint at a faded inscription, the stubborn refusal to see the heartache in a loved one's silence—a dimness of perception that begins in the eyes and seeps, inexorably, into the soul.

adj

Of a person: having impaired vision; partially blind; dim-sighted.“Thy dignitie or autorite, wherin thou onely differest from other, is (as it were) but a weighty or heuy cloke, fresshely gliteringe in the eyen of them that be poreblynde, where unto the it is paynefull, if thou weare hym in his right facion, and as it shal best become the.”
Of the eyes: unable to see well, especially due to old age; weak.
Of a person: lacking in discernment or understanding; dim-witted, unintelligent.“Yet did my Breſt that glorious fire incloſe, / VVhich their dull purblind Ignorance not ſavv, […]”
Of a place: poorly illuminated; dark, dim.
Completely blind.“Speake to my goſhip Venus one faire vvord, / One nickname for her purblind ſonne and her, / Young Abraham: Cupid he that ſhot ſo true, / VVhen King Cophetua lou'd the beger mayd.”
Having one eye blind.“The French haue a good Prouerbe. Entre les auengles, les borgnes ſont les Roys: Among the blinde, the pore blind are the Kings. And thus they vvhich haue no skill in tongues, vvill boldly ſay, that this or that man doth perfectly, and vvithout ſtamering, ſpeake many tongs.”

noun

A person who has impaired vision or is partially blind.“If the miraculous Blood fails of diſſolving at its Approach to the miraculous Head, the vviſe Neapolitans look on it as an Omen of ſome more grievous Judgmt. than our Foreſighted Purblinds do of a Salt's Overthrovv on Table; but vvhen it benignly liquifies 'tis then a ſure Token of heavenly Favour, and the Able Pious ſurely make rich Offerings accordingly.”

verb

To cause (someone) to have impaired vision or become partially blind.“And may the Sun, that novv begins t'appear / I'th Horizon to uſher in the year, / Melt all thoſe fatuous Vapours, vvhoſe falſe light / Purblinds the VVorld, and leads them from the right; […]”