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blooding

blooding

9.5
An experience that tests someone for the first time, often a hard lesson
  • noun
  • /ˈblʌdɪŋ/
translation icon : iniciación

Synonyms

baptism of fire
vsblooding
  • Informal
1 7.7

A first hard experience that tests someone's ability and courage

is the deliberate act of making someone undergo a first hard challenge

Antonyms

1.0

An act that makes something easier for someone

134 1.4

Making someone feel less worried or upset

Surface Forms

blooding singular
bloodings plural

Morphology

blooding = blood (opaque) = blood + ing

Although the form is a regular nominalization from the verb 'blood', the initiation/test sense is specialized and not easily predictable from the base meaning.

Etymology

Blooding comes from blood, the body's 'red liquid', and was used for giving a newcomer their 'first test' in battle, hunting, or when racing a young horse. That's why a blooding now means a person's first hard or difficult experience that shows what they can do.