Exsanguineous

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Drained of blood or pale from its absence ; bleeding heavily or suffering from a deficiency of blood
2. Having little or no blood in the body ; describing a condition marked by a large loss of blood
3. Bloodless in appearance or condition ; relating to the excessive draining of blood from the body

Etymology: Exsanguineous describes something bloodless, or drained of blood, and its parts are plain Latin. The prefix "ex-" means "out of" or "away from," and "sanguin-" is the stem of Latin "sanguis," meaning "blood." The English suffix "-eous," meaning "having the quality of," was added to form an adjective, so the word literally means "having blood drawn out of it." The formation is a learned coinage rather than a word that drifted into English through speech. Writers and physicians built it from Latin pieces to describe a state of blood loss or pallor with precision, which explains why it sounds more technical than everyday words for the same idea. Its construction is transparent enough that a reader who knows "sanguine" (blood-red, hopeful) or "exsanguinate" will recognise the family at once.

Synonyms: bloodless, anemic, pale, pallid, ashen

Antonyms: sanguine, ruddy, florid