Blate

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Characterized by a shy or modest nature; showing reluctance or timidity in social interactions; expressing a gentle or subdued demeanor
2. Exhibiting a bashful or reserved attitude; being hesitant or reticent in speech or behavior; displaying a meek or unassertive personality
3. Marked by modesty or diffidence; having a tendency to avoid drawing attention; presenting a soft-spoken or unobtrusive manner

Etymology: Blate is a Scots word whose meaning comes from two Old English words that once pointed in different directions. One was "blāt," meaning pale, livid or ghastly, the root of the modern "bleak" and "bleach." The other was "blēaþ," meaning gentle, shy or timid, and sometimes even slothful or effeminate. Northern English and Scots speakers seem to have merged these two senses, so a word that began as a description of a pallid complexion came to describe a person who blushes, hangs back or lacks boldness. The fused word was then borrowed back into English from Scots, and its sense of timidity was kept. German shows a related pattern, with "blassen" meaning to make pale and "bleich" meaning pale, which suggests how closely colour and nervousness were linked in the older Germanic vocabulary. Blate today survives mainly in Scots and northern dialect, where it describes someone sheepish, bashful or reluctant in company.

Synonyms: shy, bashful, timid, diffident, reserved

Antonyms: bold, confident, brazen, audacious, assertive