Etymologically
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bloody

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 12:39. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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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

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