bladder

To swell out like a bladder with air; to inflate.

Noun

  1. A flexible sac that can expand and contract and that holds liquids or gases.

    Synonyms: vesica

  2. Specifically, the urinary bladder.

    Synonyms: vesica

  3. A hollow, inflatable organ of a plant.
  4. The inflatable bag inside various balls used in sports, such as footballs and rugby balls.
  5. A container in the form of a flexible bag.
    • a fuel bladder
    1. A sealed plastic bag that contains wine and is usually packaged in a cask.

  6. Anything inflated, empty, or unsound.
    • to swim with bladders of philosophy - 1711, Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury, “Sensus Communis”, in Characteristicks of Men, Manners, Opinions, Times:

Origin

From Middle English bladdre, bleddre, bladder, bledder, from Old English blæddre, a variant of blǣdre, blēdre (“blister, bladder”), from Proto-West Germanic *blādrā, from Proto-Germanic *blēdrǭ, *bladrǭ (“blister, bladder”).

Forms

bladders blather blether

Hypernyms

urogenital sinus - embryological precursor

Derived

air bladder bald as a bladder of lard bashful bladder bladderball bladder campion bladder cancer bladder cherry bladder cicada bladder desperation bladdered bladderet bladder fermentation syndrome bladder fern bladderful bladder infection bladder kelp bladderless bladderlike bladdernut bladder plum bladderpod bladder senna bladder worm bladderworm

Verb

  1. To swell out like a bladder with air; to inflate.
    • bladder'd up with pride of his own merit - 1610, Giles Fletcher, Christ's Victorie and Triumph, in Heaven, in Earth, over and after Death:
  2. To store or put up in bladders.
    • bladdered lard

Forms

bladders bladdering bladdered blather blether