blooming

Multiple Entries:
  blooming    bloom  

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
blooming/ˈbluːmɪŋ/

▶adjective Brit. informal used to express annoyance or for emphasis.

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
bloom1

▶verb

• 1 produce flowers; be in flower.

• 2 be or become very healthy.

• 3 technical coat (a lens) with a special surface layer to reduce reflection.

▶noun

• 1 a flower, especially one cultivated for its beauty.

  ■ the state or period of blooming: the apple trees were in bloom.

• 2 a youthful or healthy glow in a person's complexion.

• 3 a delicate powdery surface deposit on fruits, leaves, or stems.

• 4 a full, bright sound in a musical recording.

• 5 a rapid growth of microscopic algae or cyanobacteria in water resulting in a coloured scum on the surface.

– origin ME: from ON blóm ‘flower, blossom’, blómi ‘prosperity’, blómar ‘flowers’.

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
bloom2

▶noun a mass of iron or steel hammered or rolled into a thick bar for further working.

■ historical an unworked mass of puddled iron.

▶verb (usu. as noun blooming) make (metal) into such a mass.

– origin OE blōma, of unknown origin.