Blood is thicker than water full quote: What It Actually Means & History

The blood is thicker than water quote is a popular one and it’s a medieval proverb which basically means that bonds with family are stronger than any other bond like that of friendship or love.

When you look at blood and water literally, blood is definitely thicker than water because of its components, reason why the proverb has become so popular and often used by people when advising people who seem to have some sort of rift with a family member.

Sometimes, a child could be avoiding talking to his or her father because of some reasons, and an aunty advising the child routes the famous “Blood is thicker than water” quote in making her reason why the child should solve the differences he or she has with the father.

Also when you tend to bond more with non-family members, say your friends than you bond with your own family members, say a sister, brother, you are often reminded that “Blood is thicker than water”

History of Blood Is Thicker Than Water Full Quote.

So the proverb dates back to being used in the 12th century in German. The original phrase used in German is “Blut ist dicker als Wasser” which first appeared in a different form in the medieval German beast epic Reinhart Fuchs (c. 1180; English: Reynard the Fox) by Heinrich der Glîchezære.

Then in the 13th century, it was also seen in a manuscript which reads in part “ouch ich sagen, das sippe blůt von wazzere niht verdirbet” (lines 265-266). In English it reads, “I also hear it said, kin-blood is not spoiled by water.” which may in part refer to distance not changing familial ties or duties, due to the high seas being tamed.

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.”

Other Interpretations of Blood is Thicker Than Water

An article on mystudentvoices argues that the original or right prover is “the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb”.

The site notes that the real meaning as we think we know is actually the opposite of the way we use it.

The saying actually means that bonds that you’ve made by choice are more important than the people that you are bound to by the water of the womb. The saying reflects the fact that the bonds you choose for yourself can mean much more than the ones you don’t have much say in.

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