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half blood
half bloodnounthe relation between persons having only one common parent.
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half-blood
half blood
1 Americannoun
noun
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Disparaging and Offensive. half-breed.
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a person who has only one parent in common with another person, as a half sister or half brother.
noun
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the relationship between individuals having only one parent in common
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an individual having such a relationship
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a less common name for a half-breed
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a half-blooded domestic animal
Etymology
Origin of half blood1
First recorded in 1545–55
Origin of half-blood2
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English half blod
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Impediments.—Marriage is prohibited between persons nearer of kin than first cousins of the whole or half blood.
From Marriage and Divorce Laws of the World by Hyacinthe Ringrose
Impediments.—Marriage is prohibited between relatives in the direct line, whether by blood or marriage, and between brothers and sisters of the whole or half blood.
From Marriage and Divorce Laws of the World by Hyacinthe Ringrose
People speak generally of full blood, half blood, etc., and imagine that the hereditary transmission of certain characters "lies in the blood."
From The Evolution of Man — Volume 2 by Ernst Heinrich Philipp August Haeckel
Marriage is forbidden between all descendants and ascendants, legitimate or otherwise, and in the collateral line marriages are forbidden between brothers and sisters of the whole or half blood, legitimate or illegitimate.
From Marriage and Divorce Laws of the World by Hyacinthe Ringrose
Prohibited Degrees.—Marriages between persons nearer of kin than second cousins of the whole blood or cousins of the half blood.
From Marriage and Divorce Laws of the World by Hyacinthe Ringrose
That subtext is brought home by a subplot involving a gay doctor who secretly performs abortions and operations to help the half-blood children of humans and fae pass as human.
From The Verge ● Aug. 15, 2019
Margaret Piraino, 24, dressed as Nymphadora Tonks, a half-blood witch, complete with rainbow hair and Potter-themed jewelry, attended the BookCourt party with her girlfriend, Laurel Detkin, a fellow Potter enthusiast.
From New York Times ● Jul. 31, 2016
In addition to replacing the N-word, Gribben changes the villain in "Tom Sawyer" from "Injun Joe" to "Indian Joe" and "half-breed" becomes "half-blood."
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 5, 2011
Too much of it would make a half-blood very, very feverish.
From "The Lightning Thief" by Rick Riordan
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The older he got, the longer he survived as a half-blood, the more his friends looked up to him.
From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.