Dictionary

bloodhound en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈblʌd.haʊnd/ (UK)
• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English blodhound, blodhond; equivalent to blood + hound. Cognate with Dutch bloedhond (“bloodhound”), Middle Low German blōthunt (“bloodhound”), German Bluthund (“bloodhound”), Danish blodhund (“bloodhound”), Swedish blodhund (“bloodhound”). The detective sense follows from the dog's ability to follow a trail.

Meanings

1. A large scenthound famed for its ability to follow a scent many days old, over vast distances. This dog is often used as a police dog to track missing people, fleeing suspects, or escaped prisoners.
   • Someone stole our bloodhounds, but we got the backup bloodhounds to chase the first tier of bloodhounds. 2007, Xavier: Renegade Angel, season 1, episode 4, spoken by Police Officer:
2. (figuratively, informal) A detective or other person skilled at finding people or clues.
3. (archaic) A bloodthirsty person.
   • For now the despot’s blood-hounds with their prey, Unarmed and unaware, were gorging deep Their gluttony of death; the loose array Of horsemen o’er the wide fields murdering sweep, And with loud laughter for their tyrant reap A harvest sown with other hopes; […] 1817 December, Percy Bysshe Shelley, “The Revolt of Islam. […]”, in [Mary] Shelley, editor, The Poetical Works of Percy Bysshe Shelley. […], volume I, London: Edward Moxon […], published 1839, →OCLC, page 263:

Forms

Deriveds

bloodhoundish · bloodhounding

Translations (61)

es sabuesa (informal: detective) · es sabueso (dog) · de Detektiv (informal: detective) · bg детектив (informal: detective) · hu véreb (dog) · ms انجيڠ ڤمبورو داره (dog) · nb blodhund (bloodthirsty person) · de Schweißhund (dog) · fr limier (informal: detective) · ca gos coniller (dog) · bg хръ́тка (informal: detective) · de Schnüffler (informal: detective) · fi verikoira (informal: detective) · pl detektywka (informal: detective) · ga madra fola (dog) · ru ище́йка (informal: detective) · fr détective (informal: detective) · it segugio (dog) · de Bluthund (dog) · ro copoi (dog) · fr limier (dog) · de Detektivin (informal: detective) · ru ище́йка (dog) · nb blodhund (dog) · fa سگ شکاری سنت اوبر (dog) · vo bludadog (dog) · pt sabujo (dog) · fr chien de Saint-Hubert (dog) · nn blodhund (bloodthirsty person) · da blodhund (dog) · ms anjing pemburu darah (dog) · cs bloodhound (dog) · nn blodhund (dog) · pl detektyw (informal: detective) · haw ʻīlio hanu kanaka (dog) · pl posokowiec (dog) · hu kopó (dog) · pl tropowiec (dog) · is blóðhundur (dog) · es sabueso (informal: detective) · gv coo folley (dog) · el λαγωνικό (dog) · de Bloodhound (dog) · cy gwaetgi (dog) · pl krwiożerca (bloodthirsty person) · nl bloedhond (dog) · sv blodhund (dog) · ru сы́щик (informal: detective) · de Schweisshund (dog) · hu kopó (informal: detective) · pl ogar (dog) · bg таен агент (informal: detective) · myv верьбине (dog) · de Schnüfflerin (informal: detective) · it segugio (informal: detective) · eo spurhundo (dog) · el λαγωνικό (informal: detective) · gl sabuxo (dog) · ru детекти́в (informal: detective) · fi vihikoira (dog) · ky жойчу (dog)