a. and sb. Obs. Forms: 5–7 blanket, 6 bluncket, blancket, bloncket, bloncat, 7 blonket, 5–8 blunket. [It is uncertain whether the adj. sense gave its name to the fabric, or whether the name of the fabric was transferred to its color. The original form of the word is also doubtful, though blunket is both the earliest and by far the most frequent. This makes it doubtful whether it can have been an adoption of OF. blanquet, var. of blanchet, dim. of blanc white (and thus originally the same as BLANKET), a derivation which would to some extent suit the sense.]
A. adj. Grey, greyish blue, light blue.
1488. Lord High. Treas. Accts. (Jam.). For x elne and j quarter of blanket caresay to be hos.
c. 1534. Pol. Verg. Eng. Hist. (1846), I. 74. Thei weare called Pictes … ether of their bluncket heres, ether of certaine marckes made with whot irons.
a. 1552. Leland, Brit. Coll., III. 138. Cæsius, gray of colour, or blunket.
1552. Huloet, Blancket coloure, cæsius.
1579. Spenser, Sheph. Cal., May, 5. Our bloncket liueryes [gloss. gray coate] bene all to sadde.
1611. Cotgr., Couleur perse, skie colour. Azure colour, a Blunket, or light blue.
1622. Peacham, Compl. Gentl. (1661), 155. Blanket colour, i. e. a light watchet.
1657. W. Coles, Adam in Eden, cxxxv. Gilloflowers of such variable colours … Horseflesh, blunket, purple, and white.
1783. Ainsworth, Lat. Dict. Cæsius, gray, sky-coloured, with specks of gray blunket.
B. sb. A fabric presumably of light grey or blue color; possibly the same as BLANKET sb. 1.
c. 1440. Gaw. & Galar., ii. 3 (Jam.). Here belte was of blunket.
1541. Aberd. Reg. (Jam.). Three elln of bloncat.
1600. Queen’s Wardrobe, in Nichols, Progr. Q. Eliz., III. 506. One rounde kirtle of white clothe of silver chevernd, with bluncket, with lace of golde.
