Definition of Blues

1. Noun. A type of folksong that originated among Black Americans at the beginning of the 20th century; has a melancholy sound from repeated use of blue notes.

Generic synonyms: African-american Music, Black Music, Folk Ballad, Folk Song, Folksong
Terms within: Blue Note
Specialized synonyms: Boogie, Boogie-woogie

2. Noun. A state of depression. "He had a bad case of the blues"
Exact synonyms: Blue Devils, Megrims, Vapors, Vapours
Generic synonyms: Depression

Definition of Blues

1. Noun. (plural of blue) ¹

2. Noun. (informal) A feeling of sadness or depression. ¹

3. Noun. (context: singular or plural informal) One's particular life experience, particularly including the hardships one has faced. ¹

4. Noun. A musical form, African-American in origin, generally featuring an eight-bar or twelve-bar structure and using the blues scale. ¹

5. Noun. (music always singular) A musical composition following blues forms. ¹

6. Noun. A uniform made principally of a blue fabric. ¹

7. Noun. (context: sports) Any of a number of sports teams which wear blue kit. ¹

8. Verb. (third-person singular of blue) ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Blues

1. blue [v] - See also: blue

Lexicographical Neighbors of Blues

bluenesses
bluenette
bluenettes
bluenose
bluenosed
bluenoses
bluepoint
bluepoints
bluepoll
blueprint
blueprint paper
blueprinted
blueprinting
blueprints
bluer
blues (current term)
blues-rock
blues and twos
blues scale
blues scales
blueschist
bluescreen
bluescreened
bluescreening
bluescreens
blueshift
blueshifted
blueshifting
blueshifts
bluesier

Literary usage of Blues

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. The history of the decline and fall of the Roman empire by Edward Gibbon (1881)
"A secret attachment to the family or sect of Anastasius was imputed to the greens; the blues were zealously devoted to the cause of orthodoxy and Justinian ..."

2. The Wit and Humor of America by Marshall Pinckney Wilder (1911)
"A DOS'T O' blues BY JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY I' got no patience with blues at all! And I ust to kindo talk Aginst 'em, and claim, 'tel along last Fall, ..."

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