Blending

How to spell blending

8 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce blending

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does blending mean?

1. verbCombining two or more things into one smooth or unified whole.
2. nounThe process or result of combining elements smoothly together.

Blending in a sentence

• verb

  Blending the paint slowly gives a more even colour on the wall.

• noun

  Good blending of the colours made the gradient look seamless.

• verb

  The recipe relies on blending the spices before the meat goes in.

• noun

  The smooth blending of old and new architecture impressed the visitors.

Where does blending come from?

Language of origin: Old Norse

The base word 'blend' comes from Old Norse 'blanda', meaning 'to mix' or 'to blend', a verb the Norse settlers brought to northern England during the Viking age. It is closely related to the Old English 'blandan', also meaning 'to mix', and the two strands reinforced each other so the word survived into Middle English. The original sense was simply the physical mingling of substances, and from there it broadened to cover combining colours, flavours, sounds, and even people fitting smoothly into a group. The form 'blending' is the ordinary present participle and gerund, made by adding '-ing' to the single-syllable stem; because the stem ends in a single consonant after a single short vowel that is part of a consonant cluster (nd), the 'd' is simply kept and no letter is doubled. That is the small spelling point worth remembering: it is blend plus ing, with one d, never 'blendding'.

How the word is built

• blend (mix together)
• -ing (present participle / gerund suffix)