Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word
bloody noun. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
bloody noun, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
bloody noun in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
bloody noun you have here. The definition of the word
bloody noun will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
bloody noun, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Etymology
From "blood 'n' 'oun's", from "blood and wounds". Several sources, including Harrison Garman's 1892 A Synopsis of the Reptiles and Amphibians of Illinois, say the frog is so called because "its peculiar bass notes have a fancied resemblance to the expression" blood and wounds and other similar-sounding and similarly imposing phrases like "be drowned".
Noun
bloody noun (plural bloody nouns)
- (US dialects, now rare) The bullfrog, or the sound made by it.
1850, Edgar Allan Poe, Why the Little Frenchman Wears His Hand in a Sling:"Ye little spalpeeny frog of a bog-throtting son of a bloody noun!"
- 1868, F. O. S., of Shreveport, Louisiana, quoted in The Land We Love: A Monthly Magazine; V. 1-6; May 1866-Mar. 1869, page 165:
- The big fellow was not there, but a keen-eyed little bull-frog had taken his place and he seemed to comprehend the situation at a glance. For he set up the croak, Bloody nouns, played out! played out!! PLAYED OUT!!!
- 1898, Henry George, The Science of Political Economy, book 2, page 62, quoting a Philadelphia boy:
- "Bloody nouns are the big ones."
-
- *A name given by boys in Philadelphia to large bullfrogs.