Etymograph

English

blood

Blood comes from Middle English blood, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *blōþą.

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*blōþą1reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*blōd1reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150blōd1
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500blood1
  5. Englishearliest quotation c. 1596–1599blood1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English blood
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1596–1599, William Shakespeare, The Second Part of Henry the Fourth, […]. Epilogue.: “When thou perceive his blood inclined to mirth”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*blōþąWiktionary, English bloodreconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*blōdWiktionary, English bloodreconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150blōdWiktionary, English blood
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500bloodWiktionary, English blood
  5. Englishearliest quotation c. 1596–1599bloodWiktionary, English blood. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1596–1599, William Shakespeare, The Second Part of Henry the Fourth, […]. Epilogue.: “When thou perceive his blood inclined to mirth”

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with blood, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₃- ‘bloom, flower’

  • full ← fullen ← fuller ← foler ← fullāre
  • flower ← flour ← flur ← flōrem ← *flōs
  • fool ← fouler ← fouller ← foler ← *fullāre
  • blow ← blowen ← blōwan ← *blōaną
  • blade ← blad ← blæd ← *blad ← *bladą
  • foil ← foilen ← fouler ← fullō
  • floral ← flōrālis ← flōs ← *flōs ← *bʰléh₃s
  • flora ← *flōs ← *bʰléh₃s ~ *bʰl̥h₃s-és
  • folly ← feuille ← feuille ← fueille ← folia
  • flourish ← floryschen ← florir ← flōrīre ← flōrēre
  • blossom ← blosme ← blostm ← *blōstmô ← *bʰleh₃-s-
  • folio ← folium ← *bʰolh₃yom

69 more relatives in the full family tree

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Today it means

noun A vital liquid flowing in the bodies of many types of animals that usually conveys nutrients and oxygen. In vertebrates, it is colored red by hemoglobin, is conveyed by arteries and veins, is pumped by the heart and is usually generated in bone marrow.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “blood”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *blōþą / blood