Blanket (&unr_;), n. [F. blanchet, OF. also blanket, a woolen waistcoat or shirt, the blanket of a printing press; prop. white woolen stuff, dim. of blanc white; blanquette a kind of white pear, fr. blanc white. See Blank, a.] 1. A heavy, loosely woven fabric, usually of wool, and having a nap, used in bed clothing; also, a similar fabric used as a robe; or any fabric used as a cover for a horse.
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2. (Print.) A piece of rubber, felt, or woolen cloth, used in the tympan to make it soft and elastic.
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3. A streak or layer of blubber in whales.
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&hand_; The use of blankets formerly as curtains in theaters explains the following figure of Shakespeare. Nares.
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Nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark
To cry, “Hold, hold!” Shak.
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Blanket sheet, a newspaper of folio size. -- A wet blanket, anything which damps, chills, dispirits, or discour&unr_;ges.
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