Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “bloodthirsty” come from?

Bloodthirsty is a compound of English blood and thirsty, with blood descending from Middle English blood, Old English blōd, Proto-Germanic blōþą, and Proto-Indo-European bʰleh₃-.

bloodthirsty (English): Thirsty for blood: inexorably violent or eager...

Definitions

  1. Thirsty for blood: inexorably violent or eager...

Ancestry of “bloodthirsty”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishBloodA member of the Los Angeles gang The Bloods
2Middle Englishbloodblood
3Old Englishblōdblood
4Proto-West Germanicblōdblood
5Proto-Germanicblōþąblood
6Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰleh₃-bloom, flower
7Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰel-to sound; to speak, roar, bark; shiny, white; to...
8Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰōl-—

Words derived from “bloodthirsty”

  • bloodthirstiness
  • bloodthirstily
  • unbloodthirsty
Every word from Proto-Indo-European bʰōl- →