a. [ OE. blac, bleyke, bleche, AS. blāc, bl&aemacr_;c, pale, wan; akin to Icel. bleikr, Sw. blek, Dan. bleg, OS. blēk, D. bleek, OHG. pleih, G. bleich; all from the root of AS. blīcan to shine; akin to OHG. blīchen to shine; cf. L. flagrare to burn, Gr.
When she came out she looked as pale and as bleak as one that were laid out dead. Foxe. [ 1913 Webster ]
Wastes too bleak to rear
The common growth of earth, the foodful ear. Wordsworth. [ 1913 Webster ]
At daybreak, on the bleak sea beach. Longfellow. [ 1913 Webster ]
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n. [ From Bleak, a., cf. Blay. ] (Zool.) A small European river fish (Leuciscus alburnus), of the family Cyprinidæ; the blay.
☞ The silvery pigment lining the scales of the bleak is used in the manufacture of artificial pearls. Baird. [ 1913 Webster ]
a. Bleak. [ Obs. ] Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]