Word of the Day

: January 17, 2007

consanguineous

adjective kahn-san-GWIN-ee-us

What It Means

: of the same blood or origin; specifically : descended from the same ancestor

consanguineous in Context

Brent hadn't believed that the man who claimed to be his long-lost cousin was telling the truth, but the documents proved that the two men were consanguineous.

Did You Know?

"Consanguineous" is part of a family of "blood" relatives that all descend from the Latin noun "sanguis," meaning "blood." Some of these relatives are found on the literal branch of the family tree, as "exsanguination," a term for the draining or removal of blood. Others are on the figurative side of the family, such as "sanguine," a word that can mean "bloodred" or "ruddy" but that is more often used with the meaning "cheerful" or "optimistic." There is also "sangfroid," a French word (literally meaning "cold blood") that was borrowed into English to refer to self-control under stress. "Consanguineous" relies on the "kinship" sense of "blood," bringing together "sanguis" with the Latin prefix "con-," meaning "with," to form a word used to describe two or more organisms that descend from the same ancestor.