Etymologically
Log in

sanguine

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 12 October 2026 at 04:51. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English sanguin, sangueyn,[1][2][3] borrowed from Old French sanguin (feminine sanguine),[4][1][5][2] from Latin sanguineus (“of blood, bloody, bloodthirsty”),[4][1][5][2] from sanguis (“blood”) (genitive sanguinis),[4][1][5][2] which is of uncertain origin.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Blood-red (1378 in Barnhart; 1382 in the OED; late 14th century in Etymonline); it appears as a surname, Sanguin, in 1194.[1][6][5]

Semantic evolution

In medieval physiology a person in whom blood predominated over the other three humours was sanguine (c. 1386),[6][1][7] with a ruddy face and a disposition marked by courage, hope and amorousness.[4][8][7] Chaucer says of his Franklin, “Of his complexioun he was sangwyn”.[9] From this the sense “cheerful, hopeful, confident” arose (1509 in Barnhart; about 1500 in Etymonline).[1][5] The sense “of or containing blood” dates from 1447,[6][5] and “bloodthirsty, sanguinary” from 1705, now only poetic.[6][10] As a noun it names a blood-red colour, a red tincture in heraldry and a red chalk crayon used for drawing.[2][11][10]

Timeline

  • 1194 – the surname Sanguin.[1]
  • 1378 – blood-red.[1][6]
  • c. 1386 – having blood as the dominant humour.[6]
  • 1447 – of or containing blood.[6]
  • 1509 – cheerful, confident.[1]
  • 1705 – bloodthirsty.[6]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Cheerfully confident; optimistic.
  2. Of a healthy, reddish colour; ruddy.
  3. Of the colour of blood; red.
  4. (history) Having blood as the dominant humour, in medieval physiology, and the ruddy complexion and passionate, cheerful temperament thought to go with it.
  5. (obsolete) Bloodthirsty; sanguinary.

Noun

  1. A blood-red colour.
  2. A red chalk or crayon containing iron oxide, used in drawing.

Word family

  • sanguinely
  • sanguineness
  • sanguinity
  • nonsanguine
  • oversanguine
  • unsanguine
  • consanguine
  • exsanguine
  • sanguinary
  • sangaree
  • sangria
  • exsanguinate
  • consanguinity
  • ensanguine
  • humour

Usage notes

Sanguine should not be confused with sanguinary, “bloodthirsty”.[12][4] The two words share their source in Latin sanguis, “blood”; the cheerful sense of sanguine comes from the medieval theory of the humours.[4][8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  2. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  3. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  4. ^ a b c d e f The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  5. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ a b From Abracadabra to Zeus: Word Histories and Mysteries (2004), Boston: Houghton Mifflin (American Heritage Dictionaries)
  9. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
  10. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  11. ^ Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  12. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org