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blood (blŭd)
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n.
1.
a. The fluid consisting of plasma, blood cells, and platelets that is circulated by the heart through the vertebrate vascular system, carrying oxygen and nutrients to and waste materials away from all body tissues.
b. A similar fluid in animals other than vertebrates.
c. The juice or sap of certain plants.
2. A vital or animating force; lifeblood.
3. One of the four humors of ancient and medieval physiology, identified with the blood found in blood vessels, and thought to cause cheerfulness.
4. Bloodshed; murder.
5. Temperament or disposition: a person of hot blood and fiery temper.
6.
a. Descent from a common ancestor; parental lineage.
b. Family relationship; kinship.
c. Descent from noble or royal lineage: a princess of the blood.
d. Recorded descent from purebred stock.
e. National or racial ancestry.
7. A dandy.
tr.v. blood·ed, blood·ing, bloods
1. To give (a hunting dog) its first taste of blood.
2.
a. To subject (troops) to experience under fire: "The measure of an army is not known until it has been blooded" (Tom Clancy).
b. To initiate by subjecting to an unpleasant or difficult experience.
Idioms:
bad blood
Long-standing animosity.
in cold blood
Deliberately, coldly, and dispassionately.
in (one's) blood
So characteristic as to seem inherited or passed down by family tradition.
[Middle English blod, from Old English blōd; see bhel-3 in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 
Blood (blŭd)
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n. pl. Blood or Bloods
A member of a tribe of the Blackfoot confederacy inhabiting southern Alberta.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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