What is the origin of the English term "bloody"?

Question

I often hear people in the UK use the term "bloody".
It is used in movies and literature too. In fact, I sometimes use it here in the States.
I have asked people to describe it's meaning and origin, but I haven't had any bloody-good answers yet.

I would like to know the origin and evolution of the word more than the meaning. Does anyone really know?

Answer 1

it dates back to mid-15th century during the reign of King Henry VIII. upon divorcing his 2nd wife and issuing an execution statement to seal their divorce. his wife pleaded for her life, and out of desperation, claimed that she was pregnant with his unborn child. but King Henry VIII found out it was all a hoax when he had her dirty wardrobe meticulously investigated upon. the periodic stains gave her away, prompting him to push through with the execution. upon hearing of her demise, the female population of England started sporting thick padding beneath their britches to conceal their stains.

King Henry VIII stated in his diary that, "i shall ne'er be deceived again by such a bloody wretched wench" which he meant literally and soon evolved into a common phrase when an Englishman would speak about something in disgust.

thus came the first "bloody" phrase, and the birth of the first maxi-pad.

Answer 2

English Term Bloody

Answer 3

Bloody is a British swear word that until recent decades was considered highly offensive. This is a bit strange to most Americans, who do not see it as particularly offensive, only British, and by Australians who use it is a staple of their dialect, sort of an all-purpose adjective). The word was so scandalous that the 1914 London opening of George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion will be forever remembered because of the uproar over Eliza Doolittle line "not bloody likely" in the third act. (The 1938 film version of the play was the first British film to use the word.) Like many swear words, the origin is a bit mysterious. No one is certain exactly to what the blood refers.

Of course, this does not stop people from suggesting possible origins. Popular derivations include the belief that it comes from the oath God's Blood or is a corruption of the phrase By our Lady. Alternately, some suggest it is a reference to menstruation. None of these have any real evidence to support them.

The Oxford English Dictionary suggests that it derives from a reference to the aristocratic rowdies of the Restoration (i.e., those of noble or aristocratic blood). This is supported by early uses as an intensifier, which are in the form bloody drunk. From G. Etherege's 1676 Man of Mode:

Not without he will promise to be bloody drunk.

And the poet John Dryden wrote in 1684:

The doughty Bullies enter bloody drunk.

Lexicographer Eric Partridge disagreed with all the above, stating, Partridge's A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English"there is no need for ingenious etymologies: the idea of blood suffices."

(Sources: Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd Edition; Partridge's Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English, 8th Edition.)

Answer 4

It can be dated back to mid-15th century. bloody expl. Damn, another tricky word to define. Bloody is another great British multi-purpose swear word. Most well known as part of the phrase "Bloody hell!" which could best be described as an exclamation of surprise, shock or anger. Bloody can also be used in the middle of sentences for emphasis in a similar way to the ubiquitious f--- word ("And then he had the cheek to call me a bloody liar!") or even with particular audacity in the middle of words ("Who does she think she is, Cinde-bloody-rella?"). I am reliably informed by a contributor that bloody is in fact nothing to do with blood and actually a contraction of the phrase "by Our Lady". Sometimes I wonder whether it's worth putting in all these useful linguistic derivations when in actual fact you only got here because you were wondering what a proof was. The word is scandalous that the 1914 London opening of George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion because of the uproar over Eliza Doolittle line "not bloody likely" in the third act. (The 1938 film version of the play was the first British film to use the word.) Like many swear words, the origin is a bit mysterious. No one is that certain to exactly what the bloody word refers too.

Answer 5

It's a curse word. It is short for "By Our Lady" and is a reference to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The abbreviated form "By'r Lady" is common in Shakespeare's plays around the turn of the 17th century (and all our text books at school supported this explanation), and interestingly Jonathan Swift about 100 years later writes both "it grows by'r Lady cold" and "it was bloody hot walking to-day" suggesting that a transition from one to the other could have been under way.

Answer 6

The whole issue of racism is nonsense. Yanks - Americans, Limeys - Brits. Taffy - Welsh, Jock - Scots, Aussie - Australians, Paddy - Irish. These are terms commonly used and no one takes offence. Some races however take offence at nicknames given to them and start throwing the race card around. Personally I think it's just a sign of insecurity.

Answer 7

Bloody is the adjectival form of blood but may also be used as a swear word or expletive attributive (intensifier) in Britain, Ireland, South East Asia, Australia, and increasingly North America. Nowadays it is considered (by most of the population of these countries) to be a very mild expletive, and unlikely to cause offence in most circles.

Etymology
Some say it may be derived from the phrase "by Our Lady", a sacrilegious invocation of the Virgin Mary. The abbreviated form "By'r Lady" is common in Shakespeare's plays around the turn of the 17th century, and interestingly Jonathan Swift about 100 years later writes both "it grows by'r Lady cold" and "it was bloody hot walking to-day" [1] suggesting that a transition from one to the other could have been under way. Others regard this explanation as dubious. Eric Partridge, in Words, Words, Words (Methuen, 1933), describes this as "phonetically implausible". Geoffrey Hughes in Swearing: A social history of foul language, oaths and profanity in English (Blackwell, 1991), points out that "by my lady" is not an adjective whereas "bloody" is, and suggests that the slang use of the term started with "bloody drunk" meaning "fired up and ready for a fight".

Another theory is that it simply comes from a reference to blood, a view that Partridge prefers. However, this overlooks the considerable strength of social and religious pressure in past centuries to avoid profanity. This resulted in the appearance of words that in some cases appear to bear little relation to their source: "Crikey" for "Christ"; "Gee" for "Jesus"; "Heck" for "Hell"; "Gosh" for "God"; "dash", "dang" or "darn" for "damn"; "sprinkles" or "shoot" for "****"; "fick" or "fiddlesticks" for "****"; "witch" for "*****". These, too, might be considered implausible etymologies if looked at only from the point of view of phonetics. Given the context in which it is used, as well as the evidence of Swift's writing, the possibility that "bloody" is also a minced oath cannot be lightly dismissed. The suggestion that it originated as a reference to Jesus "bleeding" on the cross is compelling for its shock value, callousness and sacriligeous intent, just as the Irish, and those of the diaspora, will exclaim "suffering Jesus" in response to something shocking.

Although in the 1600s the word appeared to be relatively innocuous, after about 1750 the word assumed more profane connotations in the UK and Commonwealth. The use of bloody in adult UK broadcasting aroused controversy in the 1960s and 1970s but is now unremarkable (as can be seen by the fact that in the Harry Potter movies, which are geared toward children, the character Ron says "bloody hell" many times in all four movies).

The origins of the United Kingdom's objection to "bloody" may be in part due to the connotations of Bloody Mary, most commonly referring to a particularly divisive queen of England notorious for her violent suppression of anti-Catholic views.

Answer 8

Bloody is the adjectival form of blood but may also be used as a swear word or expletive attributive (intensifier) in Britain, Ireland, South East Asia, Australia, and increasingly North America. Nowadays it is considered (by most of the population of these countries) to be a very mild expletive, and unlikely to cause offence in most circles.

Some say it may be derived from the phrase "by Our Lady", a sacrilegious invocation of the Virgin Mary. The abbreviated form "By'r Lady" is common in Shakespeare's plays around the turn of the 17th century, and interestingly Jonathan Swift about 100 years later writes both "it grows by'r Lady cold" and "it was bloody hot walking to-day" suggesting that a transition from one to the other could have been under way. Others regard this explanation as dubious. Eric Partridge, in Words, Words, Words (Methuen, 1933), describes this as "phonetically implausible". Geoffrey Hughes in Swearing: A social history of foul language, oaths and profanity in English (Blackwell, 1991), points out that "by my lady" is not an adjective whereas "bloody" is, and suggests that the slang use of the term started with "bloody drunk" meaning "fired up and ready for a fight".

Another theory is that it simply comes from a reference to blood, a view that Partridge prefers. However, this overlooks the considerable strength of social and religious pressure in past centuries to avoid profanity. This resulted in the appearance of words that in some cases appear to bear little relation to their source: "Crikey" for "Christ"; "Gee" for "Jesus"; "Heck" for "Hell"; "Gosh" for "God"; "dash", "dang" or "darn" for "damn"; "sprinkles" or "shoot" for "****"; "fick" or "fiddlesticks" for "****"; "witch" for "*****". These, too, might be considered implausible etymologies if looked at only from the point of view of phonetics. Given the context in which it is used, as well as the evidence of Swift's writing, the possibility that "bloody" is also a minced oath cannot be lightly dismissed. The suggestion that it originated as a reference to Jesus "bleeding" on the cross is compelling for its shock value, callousness and sacriligeous intent, just as the Irish, and those of the diaspora, will exclaim "suffering Jesus" in response to something shocking.

Although in the 1600s the word appeared to be relatively innocuous, after about 1750 the word assumed more profane connotations in the UK and Commonwealth. The use of bloody in adult UK broadcasting aroused controversy in the 1960s and 1970s but is now unremarkable (as can be seen by the fact that in the Harry Potter movies, which are geared toward children, the character Ron says "bloody hell" many times in all four movies).

The origins of the United Kingdom's objection to "bloody" may be in part due to the connotations of Bloody Mary, most commonly referring to a particularly divisive queen of England notorious for her violent suppression of anti-Catholic views.

Answer 9

Excellent Question!! I have read all the answers and think the answer by the 'Ricky the Kid' answerer sounds the most plausable. Makes the most sense to me. I also liked 'bloody drunk' meaning drunk enought to fight. Both seem to work but the King Henry expression sounds more believable!

Answer 10

Today's word bloody comes to us from Old English, where it was blodig