# purblind

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ˈpɜːblaɪnd/

## Definitions
1. Of a person: having impaired vision; partially blind; dim-sighted.
2. Of the eyes: unable to see well, especially due to old age; weak.
3. Of a person: lacking in discernment or understanding; dim-witted, unintelligent.
4. Of a place: poorly illuminated; dark, dim.
5. Completely blind.
6. Having one eye blind.
7. Near-sighted, short-sighted; myopic.
8. Far-sighted, long-sighted; hypermetropic.

## 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 adjective.

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