sanguine |
American Heritage Dictionary (6 definitions)
- Of the color of blood; red.
- Of a healthy reddish color; ruddy: a sanguine complexion.
- Archaic Having blood as the dominant humor in terms of medieval physiology.
- Archaic Having the temperament and ruddy complexion formerly thought to be characteristic of a person dominated by this humor; passionate.
- Cheerfully confident; optimistic.
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The similarity in form between sanguine, "cheerfully optimistic,” and sanguinary, "bloodthirsty,” may prompt one to wonder how they have come to have such different meanings. The explanation lies in medieval physiology with its notion of the four humors or bodily fluids (blood, bile, phlegm, and black bile). The relative proportions of these fluids was thought to determine a person's temperament. If blood was the predominant humor, one had a ruddy face and a disposition marked by courage, hope, and a readiness to fall in love. Such a temperament was called sanguine, the Middle English ancestor of our word sanguine. The source of the Middle English word was Old French sanguin, itself from Latin sanguineus. Both the Old French and Latin words meant "bloody,” "blood-colored,” Old French sanguin having the sense "sanguine in temperament” as well. Latin sanguineus was in turn derived from sanguis, "blood,” just as English sanguinary is. The English adjective sanguine, first recorded in Middle English before 1350, continues to refer to the cheerfulness and optimism that accompanied a sanguine temperament but no longer has any direct reference to medieval physiology.
–adjective
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Century Dictionary (12 definitions)
GNU Webster's 1913 (9 definitions)
WordNet (3 definitions)
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I remain sanguine in Obama's judgment of character and his political skills.
For the moment, most analysts remain sanguine about BP's ability to weather the storm; 34 of them have "buy" recommendations on the stock, eight have "hold" and only one has a "sell."
So I tried to remain sanguine as things became more and more outrageous, and each day I sublimated the urge to blast forth on this tiny piece of the internet I get to control.
While experts remain sanguine -- and in fact the market, led by the big players, rebounded by the end of the week -- ordinary investors were spooked by the scandal.
But this is a gentle end, a natural death, such persons commonly make away themselves. — — — proprioque in sanguine laetus,
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Pronunciations
/ (săngˈgwĭn)/
ahd pronounces "sanguine"
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Etymology
American Heritage Dictionary (1)
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Middle English, from Old French sanguin, from Latin sanguineus, from sanguis, sanguin-, blood.
Century Dictionary
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