blanket

I. noun Etymology: Middle English white woolen cloth, bed covering, from Anglo-French blankete, from blanc white — more at blank Date: 14th century 1. a. a large usually oblong piece of woven fabric used as a bed covering b. a similar piece of fabric used as a body covering (as for an animal) <

a horse blanket

> 2. something that resembles a blanket <

a blanket of fog

> <

a blanket of gloom

> 3. a rubber or plastic sheet on the cylinder in an offset press that transfers the image to the surface being printed • blanketlike adjective II. transitive verb Date: 1605 1. to cover with or as if with a blanket <

new grass blankets the slope

> 2. a. to cover so as to obscure, interrupt, suppress, or extinguish <

blanket a fire with foam

> b. to interrupt the smooth flow of wind to (as a downwind ship) c. to apply or cause to apply to uniformly despite wide separation or diversity among the elements included <

freight rates that blanket a region

> d. to cause to be included <

automatically blanketed into the insurance program

> III. adjective Date: 1886 1. covering all members of a group or class <

a blanket wage increase

> 2. effective or applicable in all instances