Sanguinary
/ˈsæŋɡwɪˌnɛri/noun
Involving bloodshed; cruelly violent.
Did you know?Its ultimate root is Latin *sanguis* (“blood”), the same ancient bloodline that gave English *sanguine*—once linked to the medieval belief that temperament itself could be ruled by bodily humors.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*sengʷʰ-
“to bleed or blood-related”
Latin
Latin
sanguis
“blood”
Late Latin
Latin
sanguinarius
“bloody; bloodthirsty”
Late Middle English
English
sanguinary
“bloodthirsty; marked by bloodshed”
Modern English
English
sanguinary
“involving or causing much bloodshed”
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