Hemorrhagic

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˌhɛməˈrædʒɪk/

Definitions

1. Marked by the presence of substantial blood loss or severe bleeding
2. Describes a condition or event that includes excessive bleeding or blood escape from vessels
3. Pertaining to situations or disorders where significant blood loss occurs through damaged vessels

Etymology: Hemorrhagic is about as plain as English adjectives get: it is hemorrhage with the adjective-forming suffix "-ic" attached. The suffix came into English through Latin "-icus", which Old French passed on as "-ique" before Middle English adopted the form "-ik", later written "-ic". Its own ancestry reaches back to forms like "-ikos" in Greek and Latin, which simply mean "having to do with" or "characteristic of", so the suffix on its own carries no bleeding or blood at all. The real work is done by "hemorrhage", the noun it modifies. That is the word that carries the meaning "bleeding", and "hemorrhagic" just describes something as involving that kind of bleeding, usually in a medical sense, as in a hemorrhagic stroke.

Synonyms: bleeding, loss of blood, hemorrhagic shock, blood-loss, hemorrhagic fever