Blood is thicker than water
"Blood is thicker than water" is a German proverb (originally: Blut ist dicker als Wasser.), which is also common in English speaking countries. It generally means that the bonds of family and common ancestry are stronger than those bonds between unrelated people (such as friendship).
It first appeared in the medieval German beast epic Reinhart Ficks (c. 1180 'Reynald the Fox') by Heinrich der Glîchezære, whose words in English read, 'Kin-blood is not spoilt by water.' In 1412, the English priest John Lydgate observed in 'Troy Book,' 'For naturally blood will be of kind/ Drawn-to blood, where he may it find.' By 1670, the modern version was included in John Ray's collected 'Proverbs,' and later appeared in Sir Walter Scott's novel 'Guy Mannering' (1815) and in English reformer Thomas Hughes's 'Tom Brown's School Days' (1857). In 1859, U.S. Navy Commodore Josiah Tattnall, in command of the American Squadron in Far Eastern waters, made this adage a part of American history when explaining why he had given aid to the British squadron in an attack on Taku Forts at the mouth of the Pei Ho River, June 25, 1859, during a battle with the Chinese that year thereby infringing strict American neutrality.
More recently, Aldous Huxley's 'Ninth Philosopher's Song' (1920) gave the saying quite a different turn with 'Blood, as all men know, than water's thicker / But water's wider, thank the Lord, than blood.'[1]
"Relatives stick together" – one will do more for relation than for others. A similar expression in German dates from the 12th century, but in English it seems to have been passed on verbally until the early 19th century when it appeared in print (1815) in Sir Walter Scott's 'Guy Mannering', "Weel - Blud's thicker than water - she's welcome to the cheeses."[2]
"Relationships within the family are stronger than any other kind" – The saying was first cited in John Lydgate's 'Troy Book' (c. 1412). Appeared in J. Ray's collection of proverbs in 1670. First attested in the United States in 'Journal of Athabasca Department' (1821)."[3]
The phrase was included in a book of proverbs in 1672.[4]
Contents |
[edit] Viscosity
On average blood is about 4 times thicker than water.
[edit] References
- ^ Flexner, Stuart & Doris (1993). Wise Words and Wives' Tales: The Origins, Meanings and Time-Honored Wisdom of Proverbs and Folk Sayings Olde and New. New York: Avon Books. p. 208. ISBN 978-0380762385.
- ^ Rogers, James T. (1985). The Dictionary of Clichés. New York: Ballantine Books. ISBN 978-0345338143.
- ^ Titelman, Gregory Y. (1996). Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings. New York: Random House. ISBN 978-0679445548.
- ^ Hendrickson, Robert (1987). The Facts on File Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins. New York: Facts on File, Inc. ISBN 978-0816010127.
- Dictionary of American History, James Truslow Adams, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1940.
