blan·ket / ˈblangkit/ • n. a large piece of woolen or similar material used as a bed covering or other covering for warmth. ∎ fig. a thick mass or layer of a specified material that covers something completely: a dense gray blanket of cloud.• adj. covering all cases or instances; total and inclusive: a blanket ban on tobacco advertising.• v. (-ket·ed, -ket·ing) [tr.] cover completely with a thick layer of something: the countryside was blanketed in snow.ORIGIN: Middle English (denoting undyed woolen cloth): via Old Northern French from Old French blanc ‘white,’ ultimately of Germanic origin.

blanket †white woollen stuff XIII; sheet of soft woollen cloth XIV. — OF. blanket (AL. blanchettum), var. of blanchet, f. blanc white; see BLANK, -ET.