English Language & Usage Asked on March 30, 2021
My wife was working on her lines for a play (Dracula) set in the early 1900s and one line caught my eye. It referred to the desanguination of the vampire’s victims. I’d always heard the term as exsanguination and never heard of desangination. A few quick Google searches seem to indicate that desanguination is perhaps more archaic.
The questions are these:
Is desanguination considered archaic? For how long? Which word would have most likely been used by a doctor (the character in the play) circa 1900?
Are there any subtle differences in meaning between the two? If so, which seems more relevant to the results of a vampire attack?
How’s that for a topical question on Halloween week?
As your google search probably indicated, desanguination is used very, very rarely. Perhaps more strikingly, the OED doesn’t have a single reference to it, which suggests that it isn’t being used much historically, either. By contrast, the OED gives several citations for the word exsanguinate in the mid-1800s, so the word was certainly in use by 1900.
Correct answer by Henry on March 30, 2021
Exsanguination is commonly used in the Emergency Medical field.
Answered by jcarmody on March 30, 2021
Could the difference be that, if one exsanguinates, their blood flows out of their body as a result of a wound; if one is a victim of desanguination, their blood is drawn out of their body and sucked in by another (the vampire)?
Answered by Laurel on March 30, 2021
The word was used by the character "Howard Hunter" in the 2nd series episode 3 c1981, of the American TV police drama "Hill St Blues" To describe a shot man who was unable to be approached and given medical aid. So I guess that the word was actually describing the loss of blood.
Answered by user88593 on March 30, 2021
01/03/2019: A Guardian article (online) notes Roman Britain, as understood from discovered Roman graffiti and worn or carried charms, had a propensity to reference widely the potent image of the male phallus. The article used the word 'desanguinating' for the action of Roman soldiers using short thrusting swords, as of poking, raping phalluses, in an act of desanguinating (disembowelling) the foe. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/feb/28/roman-britain-phalluses-hadrians-wall
Answered by Bobbie C. on March 30, 2021
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