From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Bleak \Bleak\ (bl[=e]k), a. [OE. blac, bleyke, bleche, AS.
bl[=a]c, bl[=ae]c, pale, wan; akin to Icel. bleikr, Sw. blek,
Dan. bleg, OS. bl[=e]k, D. bleek, OHG. pleih, G. bleich; all
from the root of AS. bl[imac]can to shine; akin to OHG.
bl[imac]chen to shine; cf. L. flagrare to burn, Gr. fle`gein
to burn, shine, Skr. bhr[=a]j to shine, and E. flame.
[root]98. Cf. Bleach, Blink, Flame.]
1. Without color; pale; pallid. [Obs.]
[1913 Webster]
When she came out she looked as pale and as bleak as
one that were laid out dead. --Foxe.
[1913 Webster]
2. Desolate and exposed; swept by cold winds.
[1913 Webster]
Wastes too bleak to rear
The common growth of earth, the foodful ear.
--Wordsworth.
[1913 Webster]
At daybreak, on the bleak sea beach. --Longfellow.
[1913 Webster]
3. Cold and cutting; cheerless; as, a bleak blast.
[1913 Webster] -- Bleak"ish, a. -- Bleak"ly, adv. --
Bleak"ness, n.
[1913 Webster]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Bleak \Bleak\, n. [From Bleak, a., cf. Blay.] (Zool.)
A small European river fish (Leuciscus alburnus), of the
family Cyprinid[ae]; the blay. [Written also blick.]
[1913 Webster]
Note: The silvery pigment lining the scales of the bleak is
used in the manufacture of artificial pearls. --Baird.
[1913 Webster]