Where does “bloodlust” come from?
Bloodlust combines English blood with Middle English lust, itself from Old English lust, tracing through Proto-Germanic blōþą and Proto-Indo-European bʰel-, meaning to swell or flow.
bloodlust (English): A desire for bloodshed and carnage, often aroused...
Definitions
- A desire for bloodshed and carnage, often aroused...
Ancestry of “bloodlust”, step by step
bloodlust traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English Blood
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Blood | A member of the Los Angeles gang The Bloods |
| 2 | Middle English | blood | blood |
| 3 | Old English | blōd | blood |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | blōd | blood |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | blōþą | blood |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰleh₃- | bloom, flower |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰel- | to sound; to speak, roar, bark; shiny, white; to... |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰōl- | — |
via English lust
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | lust | A feeling of strong desire, especially such a... |
| 2 | Middle English | lust | — |
| 3 | Old English | lust | desire, pleasure, appetite, lust |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | lustu | desire, want, lust |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | lustuz | lust, desire, want |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | lausaz | loose, free; empty, devoid; false, untrue |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | lewH- | louse |