What does blinkard mean?
"Blinkard" is an archaic English noun denoting a person who is blind or has severely impaired eyesight. Formed from the verb "blink" with the pejorative suffix "-ard" (as in "drunkard" and "coward"), it entered English in the sixteenth century and appeared most often in the drama and satire of that era, where blind or half-blind characters were frequently figures of ridicule. The playwright Ben Jonson is among the notable writers who used the term. By the eighteenth century the word had fallen almost entirely out of use, surviving today only in historical texts, scholarly glossaries, and discussions of early modern English vocabulary. Though obsolete, it remains a useful illustration of how English once formed contemptuous agent nouns, and readers encountering Renaissance drama or older dictionaries may still meet it.
nounA person who is blind or has very poor eyesight; an archaic, now largely obsolete term for someone whose vision is dimmed or failing.
- A person who is blind or nearly blind (archaic)
- A person with dim or weak eyesight (archaic)
"The old playwright cast his blinkard as a comic figure, groping blindly about the stage."
"The satirist portrayed the magistrate as a blinkard who could not see the truth before him."
"In seventeenth-century comedy, a blinkard stumbling across the stage was a stock figure of fun."
Standard plural formation; rare even in historical sources, as the word itself was always uncommon.
"The play filled its stage with blinkards and fools, each more ridiculous than the last."
Ben Jonson mocked a rival as a 'blinkard' on stage — one of the last gasps of this odd little word before it blinked out of the language entirely.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of blinkard
"Blinkard" derives from the Middle English verb "blink," meaning to glance, wink, or see dimly, combined with the suffix "-ard," which forms nouns implying excess or deficiency (compare "drunkard" and "coward"). The word arose in the sixteenth century, when it was used for someone blind or weak of sight, especially in satirical and dramatic writing. Its fortunes faded as more neutral terms such as "blind person" displaced it, leaving it obsolete by later centuries.
How blinkard is actually used
Archaic and obsolete in modern usage; found mainly in historical texts and literature of the 16th–17th centuries, particularly English drama and satire. Carried mildly derogatory or mocking connotations.
Easily confused with blinkard
'Blinkered' describes someone with narrow, restricted outlook or thinking, while 'blinkard' is an obsolete noun for a blind or half-blind person.