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Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

blower en · NOUN

Pronunciation

  • (Australia) audio
  • /ˈbloʊ.ɚ/ (General-American)
  • /ˈbləʊ.ə/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

From Middle English blowere, blower, from Old English blāwere; equivalent to blow + -er.

Meanings

  1. A person who blows.
  2. A fissure from which firedamp issues, often in quantity for many years.
    • The great sources of fire-damp in coal mines are blowers or fissures from which currents of this inflammable gas issue in considerable quantities and for a long series of years 1843, Humphry Davy, “On the fire-damp of coal mines, and on methods of lighting the mines so as to prevent its explosion”, in Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, number 31 December 1833 volume 2, republished online 1 January 1997:
  3. Any device that blows; often, especially, a furnace component or a supercharger.
    • The locomotive […] was quietly "blowing off" on one Ross "pop" valve, whilst the rhythmic clanging of the fireman's shovel, the black smoke pouring from her chimney, and the harsh sound of the blower told of the proximity of departure time. 1942 July–August, Philip Spencer, “On the Footplate in Egypt”, in Railway Magazine, page 208:
  4. Any device that blows; often, especially, a furnace component or a supercharger. ▸ A ducted fan, usually part of a heating, ventilation, and/or air conditioning system.
    • The three motors on each bogie are force ventilated from a blower mounted in the adjacent nose-end compartment of the superstructure, the air being led by ducts and flexible bellows connections to the air inlet at the commutator end of the motor. 1958 June 14, “Main-Line Diesel-Electric Locomotives for the Eastern Region”, in Railway Magazine, page 394:
  5. (Australia, Ireland, New-Zealand, UK, qualifier:usually preceded by the, slang) Telephone.
    • Get on the blower and call headquarters right away!
    • I got off the blower oozing no confidence at all. 1995, Paul Vautin, Turn It Up!, Sydney: Pan Macmillan Australia, page 144:
  6. (Australia, Ireland, New-Zealand, UK, historical, qualifier:usually preceded by the, slang) Telephone. ▸ A telephone service providing betting odds and commentary, relayed to customers in a bookmaker's shop via loudspeaker.
  7. (dated) A braggart, or loud talker.
    • There hangs something majestic about a man who has borne his part in battles, especially if he is very quiet regarding it when you desire him to unbosom. I am continually lost at the absence of blowing and blowers among these old-young American militaires. 1999, John Harmon McElroy, editor, The Sacrificial Years: A Chronicle of Walt Whitman's Experiences in the Civil War, page 29:
  8. The whale; so called from its habit of spouting up a column of water.
  9. A small fish of the Atlantic coast, Sphoeroides maculatus; the puffer.
  10. (US, slang) A gun.

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
blowers Number=Plur lexicographic

Deriveds

hornblower · Hornblower · safeblower · blower door · whistle-blower · smoke-blower · chunk-blower · smoke blower · snowblower · stoneblower · mindblower

Relateds

blowpipe (equipment blowing air to fire)

Synonyms

feeder

Translations (35)

fr ventilateur (device) · uk фен (device) · cmn 鼓風機 /鼓风机 (device) · de Ventilator (device) · bg тръбач (person) · ru фен (device) · cs fukar (device) · ja ブロワー (device) · ky үйлөөчү (person) · es ventilador (device) · bg духало (device) · bg духач (person) · cy chwythwr (person) · ru ду́ющий (person) · pl dmuchawa (device) · pt assoprador (person) · uk повітроду́вка (device) · cy chwythwr (device) · es fuelle (device) · de Lüfter (device) · he מפוח (device) · pt soprador (device) · de Bläser (device) · it soffiatore (person) · pt soprador (person) · de Bläser (person) · fi puhallin (device) · bg вентилатор (device) · ru вентиля́тор (device) · de Föhn (hairdryer) (device) · ru воздуходу́вка (device) · ga séidire (device) · uk вентиля́тор (device) · ru труба́ч (person) · de Gebläse (device)