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Mar 28, 2013
This week's theme
Loan translations

This week's words
psychological moment
running dog
potpourri
blue blood
deus ex machina

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A.Word.A.Day
with Anu Garg

blue blood

PRONUNCIATION:
(BLOO bluhd)

MEANING:
noun:
1. An aristocratic or socially prominent lineage.
2. A member of such a family.

ETYMOLOGY:
Loan translation of Spanish sangre azul (blue blood). The term arose from the visible veins of light-skinned royalty. Earliest documented use: 1835.

USAGE:
"It figures that a golf blue blood would feel at home on such a classic course. 'I love telling people that my great-uncle is a Masters champion, and that's how my dad got started, and that's the reason I play the game,' Haas said."
Karen Crouse; Leading After Three Rounds; The New York Times; Feb 16, 2013.

See more usage examples of blue blood in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Ambition is like hunger; it obeys no law but its appetite. -Josh Billings, columnist and humorist (1818-1885)

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