English Explanatory Dictionary

'sblood

English dictionary entry

Meanings

intj
  1. An exclamation formerly used as an oath, and an expression of anger or wonder.

Pronunciation

/zblʌd/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-'sblood.wav LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-'sblood.wav

Word forms

'sblood

Etymology

Minced form of God's blood. Primarily from the Middle Ages up to the early modern era, and to a rare extent today, people would curse on God's or Christ's body parts rather than breaking the Second Commandment (not to use the Lord's name in vain oaths). In this case, the exclamation refers to Christ's blood shed during the crucifixion, and the Eucharist in the form of wine.

Related words

blimey bloody gadzooks ods bodikin 'sdeath 'sheart 'struth strewth 'zounds zounds
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
Back to search All on ' Russian dictionary Dahl dictionary