sanguine means having the colour of blood; blood red.
sanguine is pronounced /ˈsæŋ.ɡwɪn/.
Why “sanguine” is a great word
Confidently optimistic or cheerful, a disposition historically believed to spring from a predominance of the humour blood. From Middle English sanguine, from Old French sanguin, ultimately from Latin sanguineus ("of blood"), from sanguis ("blood"), of uncertain origin but likely from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ésh₂r̥ ("blood") with an obscure suffix. Unlike "optimistic," a general hopefulness about outcomes, or "ruddy," a mere description of complexion, sanguine describes a hearty and unshakeable confidence carried in the very pulse. It is the glow of health in a cheek, the easy laughter that follows bad news, the particular radiance of those who seem to carry their own weather with them—an ancient conviction, written in the blood, that things will somehow work out.
Etymology
From Middle English sanguine, from Old French sanguin, ultimately from Latin sanguineus (“of blood”), from sanguis (“blood”) (of uncertain origin, but probably from Proto-Indo-European *h₁sh₂-én-, from *h₁ésh₂r̥ (“blood”), with an obscure suffix such as *-ǵʰ- (related to body parts)) + -inus + -eus. The obsolete medical sense is in reference to the humour (blood) which ancient Hippocratic and later Galenic medicine associated with cheerfulness, optimism, confidence, liveliness, and spiritedness. Doublet of sanguineous.
adj
- Having the colour of blood; blood red.
- Having a bodily constitution characterised by a preponderance of blood over the other bodily humours, thought to be marked by irresponsible mirth; indulgent in pleasure to the exclusion of important matters.“What, what, ye sanguine, shallow-hearted boys!”
- Characterized by abundance and active circulation of blood.“a sanguine bodily temperament”
- Warm; ardent.“a sanguine temper”
- Anticipating the best; optimistic; confident; full of hope.“I'm sanguine about the eventual success of the project.”
- Full of blood; bloody.
- Bloodthirsty.
noun
- Blood colour; red.
- Anything of a blood-red colour, as cloth.
- A tincture, seldom used, of a blood-red colour (not to be confused with murrey).
- Bloodstone.
- Red crayon.
verb
- To stain with blood; to impart the colour of blood to; to ensanguine.
Words closest in meaning
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