blob
A blob [ klɛks ], also a clack , is a small amount of viscous or pasty matter on another surface or another object. If this matter is more fluid, it is called a splash, if it is more solid, it is a lump. A blob can form if it can independently drip off a larger amount of the same material below the elastic limit due to its own specific gravity , but does not (yet) flow up to the flow limit .
Blob is a word often used in connection with food: a dollop of mustard, jam, whipped cream, honey and so on. But other substances with the right viscosity can also form blobs, such as a blob of paint , an ink blob or bird droppings . These blobs then cause undesirable stains, for example on textiles that are difficult to clean .
The blob is consciously used, among other things, in the blobography and the Rorschach test .
In astronomy, a blob or cluster in the sense of a heap is a non-determinable accumulation of radiation in a certain direction that stands out clearly from its surroundings. The use results from the problem of blurring , which leads to the blurring of individual points and thus to "blob formation".
The clack is also used as a synonym for trifle, triviality or lightness (“This is child's play for you / clack!”).
etymology
The word blob has been onomatopoetic in the meaning of throwing something heavy and has been documented since the 16th century. The appending s can either be seen in the Central and North German transformation, which is often associated with words with the ending on k , or it is formed after the verb blotch , if it is older. The weak verb klecken is etymologically related to both the verb clacken and the verb kleckern , both of which were formed iteratively .
literature
- Friedrich Kluge, with the help of Max Bürgisser and Bernd Gregor, edited by Elmar Seebold: Etymological dictionary of the German language. 22nd, revised and expanded edition. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 1989, ISBN 3-11-006800-1 , p. 375.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b no brainer. In: duden .de