different between bluff vs ledge

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /bl?f/
• Rhymes: -?f

Etymology 1

Probably from Dutch bluffen (“to brag”), from Middle Dutch bluffen (“to make something swell; to bluff”); or from the Dutch noun bluf (“bragging”). Related to German verblüffen (“to stump, perplex”).

Noun

bluff (countable and uncountable, plural bluffs)

1. An act of bluffing; a false expression of the strength of one's position in order to intimidate; braggadocio.

2. (poker) An attempt to represent oneself as holding a stronger hand than one actually does.

3. (US, dated) The card game poker.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Bartlett to this entry?)

4. One who bluffs; a bluffer.
5. (slang, dated) An excuse.

Derived terms

• call someone's bluff

Translations

Verb

bluff (third-person singular simple present bluffs, present participle bluffing, simple past and past participle bluffed)

1. (poker) To make a bluff; to give the impression that one's hand is stronger than it is.

2. (by analogy) To frighten or deter with a false show of strength or confidence; to give a false impression of strength or temerity in order to intimidate and gain some advantage.

3. To take advantage by bluffing.

Derived terms

Translations

Etymology 2

Related to Middle Low German blaff (“smooth”).

Noun

bluff (plural bluffs)

1. A high, steep bank, for example by a river or the sea, or beside a ravine or plain; a cliff with a broad face.
3. (Canadian Prairies) A small wood or stand of trees, typically poplar or willow.

Derived terms

• Council Bluffs
• DeValls Bluff
• Red Bluff
• Scotts Bluff County

Translations

Adjective

bluff (comparative bluffer, superlative bluffest)

1. Having a broad, flattened front.

2. Rising steeply with a flat or rounded front.
   • 1769, William Falconer, "Côte en écore" (entry in An Universal Dictionary of the Marine)

     a bluff or bold shore

   • 1845, Sylvester Judd, Margaret: A Tale of the Real and the Ideal, Blight and Bloom; Including Sketches of a Place Not Before Described, Called Mons Christi

     Its banks, if not really steep, had a bluff and precipitous aspect.

3. Surly; churlish; gruff; rough.
   • 1883: Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island

     […] he had a bluff, rough-and-ready face, all roughened and reddened and lined in his long travels.

4. Roughly frank and hearty in one's manners.

   Synonyms: abrupt, unceremonious, blunt, brusque

   • 1832, Isaac Taylor, Saturday Evening

     There is indeed a bluff pertinacity which is a proper defence in a moment of surprise.

Translations

Etymology 3

Possibly onomatopoeic, perhaps related to blow and puff.

Verb

bluff (third-person singular simple present bluffs, present participle bluffing, simple past and past participle bluffed)

1. To fluff, puff or swell up.

Translations

References

• “bluff” in the Canadian Oxford Dictionary, Second Edition, Oxford University Press, 2004.

Further reading

• bluff on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Bluff in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)

Danish

Alternative forms

• bluf

Etymology

Borrowed from English bluff.

Noun

bluff n

1. bluff

Related terms

French

Etymology

Borrowed from English bluff.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /blœf/

Noun

bluff m (plural bluffs)

1. (chiefly card games) bluff

Further reading

• “bluff” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Swedish

Etymology

Borrowed from English bluff.

Noun

bluff c

1. a bluff

Declension

Related terms

• bluffa
• bluffare
• bluffmakare

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /l?d?/
• Rhymes: -?d?
• Hyphenation: ledge

Etymology 1

From Middle English legge; usually considered to be from Middle English leggen, a variant of leyen (“to put, lay (down, waste to)”).

Noun

ledge (plural ledges)

1. A shelf on which articles may be laid; also, that which resembles such a shelf in form or use, as a projecting ridge or part, or a molding or edge in joinery.
2. (geology) A shelf, ridge, or reef, of rocks.
3. A layer or stratum.
4. A lode; a limited mass of rock bearing valuable mineral.
5. (architecture) A (door or window) lintel.
6. (architecture) A cornice.
7. (shipbuilding) A piece of timber to support the deck, placed athwartship between beams.

Translations

Verb

ledge (third-person singular simple present ledges, present participle ledging, simple past and past participle ledged)

1. (uncommon) To cause to have, or to develop, a ledge (during mining, canal construction, building, etc).
   • 1993, Proceedings, page 87:

     [...] preparation must not remove excess dentine from the canal, and care must be taken not to ledge the canal walls.

   • 2009, Mahmoud Torabinejad, Richard E. Walton, Endodontics: Principles and Practice, Elsevier Health Sciences (?ISBN), page 330:

     Length Longer canals are more prone to ledging than shorter canals. Careful attention to maintaining patency is required to prevent ledging.

     Initial Size Smaller-diameter canals are more easily ledged than larger-diameter canals. In summary ...

Etymology 2

Shortening of legend.

Alternative forms

• leg

Noun

ledge (plural ledges)

1. (slang) A lege; a legend.
   • [1], [2], [3]

Etymology 3

Shortening of legislature.

Noun

ledge (plural ledges)

1. (Canada, slang) A provincial or territorial legislature building.
   • "Alberta Legislature," Explore Edmonton [4]:

     Known to Edmontonians as "the Ledge", the Alberta Legislature Building is a marvel of marble pillars, carved oak, beautiful Beaux-Arts architecture and stunning grounds.

2. (Canada, slang) A provincial or territorial legislative assembly.

Anagrams

• degel, edgel, glede, gleed, leged