Blocklist

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. A record of individuals, organizations, or resources that are prohibited from accessing a system, service, or platform
2. A compilation of names or entities that are explicitly forbidden from accessing particular services, systems, or platforms
3. A list containing names of entities or individuals that are barred from using specific services, systems, or online platforms

Etymology: "Blocklist" is a plain compound of "block" and "list," with no hidden backstory to uncover. "Block" traces back through Middle English and Old French to Middle Dutch "blocke," a word for a log or a solid piece of wood, and its sense of obstructing a path came from the image of a heavy piece of timber set across a road. "List" comes from Old English "liste," a strip or border, which later came to mean a roll of names. Joined together, the two words describe a roll of names kept for the purpose of stopping something. The compound's meaning is literal: a blocklist records the entities to be shut out, so the second element supplies the register of names and the first supplies the act of barring. The usage is most familiar in computing and online security, where a blocklist of email addresses, IP addresses or domains is checked before a message or connection is allowed through, and its opposite, the allowlist, works the same way in reverse.

Synonyms: blacklist