Blazing a Trail Meant Cutting Marks Into Trees
A blaze is a fire, but also a white mark. To blaze a trail is to cut bark from trees so that followers can find the way.
A blaze is a bright fire — and, separately, a white mark. The trail sense belongs to the second word: to blaze a trail was to chip bark off trees at eye height, leaving pale marks that showed the route through forest. The horse with a white stripe down its face has a blaze for the same reason. A third blaze, meaning to proclaim, gives *blazon* and *blazer*.
- A large fire. *Firefighters fought the blaze.*
- A white mark. *A horse with a blaze.*
- A trail mark. *Follow the blazes.*
- Blaze a trail — to pioneer. *She blazed a trail for others.*
- Blazing — very hot or bright. *Blazing sunshine.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | blaze | A fierce blaze. |
| Verb | blaze | The fire blazed. |
| Adjective | blazing | Blazing heat. |
| Related | blazon | A heraldic blazon. |
| Related | blazer | A school blazer. |
- The blaze took six hours to control.Fire.
- The mare has a white blaze.Markings.
- She blazed a trail in surgery.Figurative pioneering.
Three words spelled blaze
- Fire — Old English *blæse*, a torch or flame
- White mark — from a Germanic root meaning shining or white
- To proclaim — related to *blazon*, from a word for a horn or a shield
- Blazer — the jacket, named for its bright colour
- Only the first two are commonly used today
The fire sense is Old English *blæse*, a torch. The mark sense is from a Germanic root meaning white or shining, and the trail-marking use is American, from the 1700s.
What does blaze a trail literally mean?
To cut marks into tree bark along a route so that others can follow it. The marks are called blazes.
Why is a jacket called a blazer?
From the bright colour of early rowing club jackets, which were said to blaze.