Bloodstroke

/ˈblʌdˌstroʊk/ noun

Definition

A stroke or blow that causes bleeding; or an archaic term for apoplexy or a sudden medical event causing bleeding in the brain.

Etymology

Compound of blood and stroke (from Old Norse straukr, meaning a blow or strike), combining a blow with the resulting bleeding, or used medically to describe internal bleeding events.

Kelly Says

Historical doctors used 'bloodstroke' to describe what we now call strokes or hemorrhagic events, showing how people once understood internal bleeding as a sudden violent blow inside the body—their metaphor wasn't far from the medical reality.

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