bloodletting Meaning, Definition & Usage
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noun formerly used as a treatment to reduce excess blood (one of the four humors of medieval medicine)
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noun indiscriminate slaughter
battue; bloodbath; bloodshed.
- a bloodbath took place when the leaders of the plot surrendered
- ten days after the bloodletting Hitler gave the action its name
- the valley is no stranger to bloodshed and murder
- a huge prison battue was ordered
WordNet
Blood"let`ting noun
Definitions
(Med.) The act or process of letting blood or bleeding, as by opening a vein or artery, or by cupping or leeches; -- esp. applied to venesection.