# blight

> English word · Noun · IPA /blaɪt/ · frequency rank #21,145

## Definitions
1. A diseased condition suffered by a plant; specifically, a complete and rapid chlorosis, browning, then death of plant tissues such as floral organs, leaves, branches, or twigs, especially one caused by a fungus; a mildew, a rust, a smut.
2. The cause of such a condition, often unseen but believed to be airborne; specifically, a bacterium, a virus, or (especially) a fungus; also, an aphid which attacks fruit trees.
3. A state of cloudy, humid weather.
4. A diseased condition of the face or skin; specifically, bleeding under the conjunctiva of the eye, a form of skin rash, or a palsy of the face due to cold.
5. Something that impedes development or growth, or spoils any other aspect of life.
6. A rundown and unsightly condition of an urban area; also, such an area.

## Etymology
The etymology of the noun is uncertain; suggested derivations include the following:
* possibly related to Middle English blichening (“mildew or rust on grain, blight”), possibly related to Middle English bliken (“to gleam, shine; to turn pale”), from Old English blīcan (“to shine, sparkle”) (whence modern English blike (“(obsolete) to gleam, shine”); also compare Old Norse blikna (“to grow pallid”)), from Proto-West Germanic *blīkan (“to shine”), from Proto-Germanic *blīkaną (“to gleam, shine”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰleyǵ- (“to shine”); or
* since noun sense 2.2 is a diseased condition of the skin, possibly from Middle English *bleighte, *bleȝte, from Old English blǣcþa (“leprosy”) (related to blǣċe (“an itching skin-disease”) and blǣċo (“leprosy; paleness”)), from Proto-West Germanic *blaik, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *blaikaz (“pale; white”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰleyǵ- (“to shine”). If so, the word is a doublet of bleak.
The verb is derived from the noun.

## Easily confused with
- **bought** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/blight-vs-bought)
- **bright** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/blight-vs-bright)
- **blighted** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/blight-vs-blighted)
- **bigot** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bigot-vs-blight)
- **Bligh** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bligh-vs-blight)
- **bight** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bight-vs-blight)
- **blige** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/blige-vs-blight)

## Common misspellings (10)
`bblight`, `bilght`, `blgiht`, `bligght`, `blighht`, `blightt`, `bligth`, `blihgt`, `bllight`, `lbight`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/blight