bloody

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈblʌ.di/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old English blōdig, from blōd (see blood) and the suffix -y,^[2][3][4] with cognates in Old Frisian blōdich, Dutch bloedig and German blutig.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of the nature of blood, or covered with blood: Old English, before 1000 in the OED.^[5][2]

Semantic evolution

Involving bloodshed is from the late 14th century, and bloodthirsty or cruel by the 1560s.^[2][5] The verb, to stain with blood, is from the 1520s.^[2] The intensive swear word, chiefly British and Australian, is recorded from 1676;^[2][6] Green's Dictionary of Slang has a bloody thief from before 1627.^[7] Partridge, quoted by Etymonline, says it was respectable before about 1750 and used by Dryden, Fielding and Swift,^[2] but it was strongly tabooed from about 1750 until about 1920;^[2] Johnson called it very vulgar, and the OED (1887) said respectable people considered it a horrid word.^[2][7] Etymonline and the OED connect it with the bloods, the aristocratic rowdies of the late 17th century, in phrases such as bloody drunk, as drunk as a blood, and Weekley with the purely intensive use of Dutch bloed and German Blut.^[2][7] Green and the New Partridge reject the popular derivation from by our Lady.^[7][6] Its frequency in colonial Australia earned it the name the great Australian adjective (1894).^[7][6] Shaw's Not bloody likely! in Pygmalion shocked London audiences.^[6]

Timeline

• before 1000 – of blood; covered in blood.^[5]
• late 14th century – involving bloodshed.^[2]
• 1520s – the verb.^[2]
• 1560s – bloodthirsty, cruel.^[2]
• 1676 – the intensive.^[2][6]
• 1894 – the Australian adjective.^[7]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Covered or stained with blood.
2. Involving much killing and bloodshed: a bloody war.
3. Cruel or bloodthirsty.
4. (chiefly British and Australian, slang) Used as an intensifier: a bloody fool.

Adverb

1. (chiefly British and Australian, slang) Very; extremely.

Verb

1. To stain with blood, or make bleed.

Word family

• bloodily
• bloodiness
• unbloody
• bloody-minded
• bloody flux

Related words

• blood
• bleed

Usage notes

The intensive bloody was long taboo in British print and was printed as b----y; it is now common in informal speech, though still avoided in polite contexts.^[7][6]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e f Dalzell, Tom; Victor, Terry, eds. (2013), The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English, 2nd ed., London: Routledge
7. ^ a b c d e f g Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com