*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of bleed

From Middle English bleden, from Old English blēdan (“to bleed”), from Proto-West Germanic *blōdijan, from Proto-Germanic *blōdijaną (“to bleed”), from *blōþą (“blood”). Cognates Cognate with Scots blede, bleid (“to blee

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
noun

An incident of bleeding, as in haemophilia. · A system for tapping hot, high-pressure air from a gas turbine engine for purposes such as cabin pressurization and airframe anti-icing. · A narrow edge around a page layout, to be printed but cut off afterwards (added to allow for slight misalignment, especially with pictures that should run to the edge of the finished sheet). · A margin left at the edges of a shot to allow for the picture being cropped when it arrives at viewers' screens.

verb

To shed blood through an injured blood vessel. · To menstruate. · To let or draw blood from. · To take large amounts of money from.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English bleden, from Old English blēdan (“to bleed”), from Proto-West Germanic *blōdijan, from Proto-Germanic *blōdijaną (“to bleed”), from *blōþą (“blood”). Cognates Cognate with Scots blede, bleid (“to bleed”), Saterland Frisian bläide (“to bleed”), West Frisian bliede (“to bleed”), Dutch bloeden (“to bleed”), Low German blöden (“to bleed”), German bluten (“to bleed”), Danish bløde (“to bleed”), Swedish blöda (“to bleed”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Inherited-form mentionbledenenm
  • Inherited-form mentionblēdanang · to bleed
  • Inherited-form mention*blōdijangmw-pro
  • Inherited-form mention*blōdijanągem-pro · to bleed
  • Cognate mentionbledesco
  • Cognate mentionbläidestq · to bleed
  • Cognate mentionbliedefy · to bleed
  • Cognate mentionbloedennl · to bleed
  • Cognate mentionblödennds · to bleed
  • Cognate mentionblutende · to bleed
  • Cognate mentionblødeda · to bleed
  • Cognate mentionblödasv · to bleed

This page abbreviates 14 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "bleden"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English bleden"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "blēdan",
        "t": "to bleed"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English blēdan (“to bleed”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
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        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*blōdijan"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *blōdijan"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*blōdijaną",
        "t": "to bleed"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *blōdijaną (“to bleed”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "col-top",
      "args": {
        "1": "2",
        "2": "cog"
      },
      "expansion": "Cognates"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sco",
        "2": "blede"
      },
      "expansion": "Scots blede"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "stq",
        "2": "bläide",
        "t": "to bleed"
      },
      "expansion": "Saterland Frisian bläide (“to bleed”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fy",
        "2": "bliede",
        "t": "to bleed"
      },
      "expansion": "West Frisian bliede (“to bleed”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "bloeden",
        "t": "to bleed"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch bloeden (“to bleed”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nds",
        "2": "blöden",
        "t": "to bleed"
      },
      "expansion": "Low German blöden (“to bleed”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "bluten",
        "t": "to bleed"
      },
      "expansion": "German bluten (“to bleed”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "da",
        "2": "bløde",
        "t": "to bleed"
      },
      "expansion": "Danish bløde (“to bleed”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "blöda",
        "t": "to bleed"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish blöda (“to bleed”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "bleden",
      "bleden#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "blēdan",
      "bledan#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*blōdijan",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/blōdijan"
    ],
    [
      "*blōdijaną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/blōdijaną"
    ],
    [
      "*blōþą",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/blōþą"
    ],
    [
      "blede",
      "blede#Scots"
    ],
    [
      "bleid",
      "bleid#Scots"
    ],
    [
      "bläide",
      "bläide#Saterland_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "bliede",
      "bliede#West_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "bloeden",
      "bloeden#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "blöden",
      "blöden#Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "bluten",
      "bluten#German"
    ],
    [
      "bløde",
      "bløde#Danish"
    ],
    [
      "blöda",
      "blöda#Swedish"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "An incident of bleeding, as in haemophilia.",
        "A system for tapping hot, high-pressure air from a gas turbine engine for purposes such as cabin pressurization and airframe anti-icing.",
        "A narrow edge around a page layout, to be printed but cut off afterwards (added to allow for slight misalignment, especially with pictures that should run to the edge of the finished sheet).",
        "A margin left at the edges of a shot to allow for the picture being cropped when it arrives at viewers' screens."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
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      ],
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      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 30094
    },
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To shed blood through an injured blood vessel.",
        "To menstruate.",
        "To let or draw blood from.",
        "To take large amounts of money from."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "intransitive",
        "transitive"
      ],
      "recordId": "41d949bb61e4a463298a88acd868d146f8ebfeb0674080b04300e05721e0e10c",
      "rawRecordSha256": "e0ff43ca43ab86ab1944ac822df3e4d4c8be73ac89207bac2311b4bd6a2db31e",
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  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
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    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 14,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for bleed →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-YmxlZWQ