bloody1
adj.
(bloodier, bloodiest)
- covered with or composed of blood.
- involving much violence or cruelty.
v.
(bloodies, bloodying, bloodied)
cover or stain with blood.
Derivative
- bloodily adv.
- bloodiness n.
bloody2
adj.
(bloodier, bloodiest)
informal, chiefly Brit. - used to express anger or shock, or for emphasis.
- dated unpleasant or perverse:
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don't be too bloody to poor Nigel.
History
Although widely believed to be a blasphemous reference to the blood of God or Christ, as in the archaic oath 'S-blood or God's blood, the informal use of bloody was probably, in the first place, simply a reference to young bloods (that is ‘young aristocrats’, or children of ‘good blood’), who behaved in a rowdy manner; in the 17th century the phrase bloody drunk meant ‘drunk as a blood’ or ‘drunk as a lord’.
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