Blur Was Probably Invented by Shakespeare's Era
A blur is something seen indistinctly. The word first meant a smear on a page, not a trick of the eye.
A blur is something seen indistinctly, or the act of making it so. The word appears in the 1500s meaning a smear or blot on a page, and only later moved to vision. The path is the same as *stain* to *impression*: from something physically smudged to something perceptually unclear. In photography *motion blur* is not a fault but a record of movement during the exposure.
- An indistinct shape. *A blur of colour.*
- To make unclear. *Tears blurred her sight.*
- A smear (archaic). *A blur on the page.*
- Motion blur. *Motion blur.*
- From the 1500s. *Origin uncertain.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | blur | A blur. |
| Plural | blurs | Blurs. |
| Verb | blur | Blurred. |
| Adjective | blurry | Blurry. |
| Adverb | blurrily | Blurrily. |
- The car was a blur as it passed.Speed.
- The rain blurred the windscreen.Vision.
- The day passed in a blur.Figurative.
Why fast things blur
- The eye integrates light over a short window of time
- Anything moving across that window spreads across it
- A camera does the same over the exposure time
- A short exposure freezes motion; a long one smears it
- Photographers use blur deliberately to show speed
Recorded from the 1500s, of uncertain origin, perhaps related to *blear*, meaning dim or watery.
Did blur always describe vision?
No. It first meant a smear or blot on a page, and moved to unclear vision later.
What is motion blur?
The smearing that appears when a subject moves during the time an eye or camera is gathering light.