Sanguification

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The process of converting or forming blood, typically referring to the generation or transformation of blood within biological systems; the act of becoming bloodstained or acquiring a blood-like quality; a metaphorical term for imparting blood-related characteristics or vitality
2. The biological or chemical transformation involved in blood production or alteration; the condition or state of being infused or imbued with blood; an allegorical usage describing the instillation of energy or lifeblood into something
3. The formation and development of blood as a physiological process; the action of becoming saturated with blood or presenting blood characteristics; a figurative expression for endowing with the essence or vigor attributed to blood

Etymology: Sanguification is a technical coinage built from Latin roots rather than an old word with a long pedigree. Its base is "sanguis," the Latin for blood, which also gave English "sanguine." The word arrived through New Latin "sanguificatio," a formation that combines "sanguify," meaning to make into blood or to fill with blood, and the suffix "-ation," which turns a verb into a noun for the process. French has a parallel form, which suggests the term moved between scientific writers in both languages. The word is used mostly in physiology and older medical writing, where it names the making of blood in the body. Its figurative sense, the infusing of something with lifeblood or vitality, grew out of that literal meaning. Because "sanguify" itself is rare, the word stays a specialist term, and most readers will meet it only in dictionaries or scientific texts.

Synonyms: blood formation, hematopoiesis