- sanguine
- 1319, "type of red cloth," from O.Fr. sanguin (fem. sanguine), from L. sanguineus "of blood," also "bloody, bloodthirsty," from sanguis (gen. sanguinis) "blood" (see sanguinary). Meaning "blood-red" is recorded from 1382. Meaning "cheerful, hopeful, confident" first attested 1509, since these qualities were thought in medieval physiology to spring from an excess of blood as one of the four humors.
- consanguinity
- late 14c., from L. consanguinitatem, from consanguineus "consanguineous, of the same blood," from com- "together" + sanguineus "of blood" (see sanguine).
- temperament
- c.1412, "proportioned mixture of elements," from L. temperamentum "proper mixture," from temperare "to mix" (see temper). In medieval theory, it meant a combination of qualities (hot, cold, moist, dry) that determined the nature of an organism; this was extended to a combination of the four humors (sanguine, choleric, phlegmatic, and melancholic) that made up a person's characteristic disposition. General sense of "habit of mind, natural disposition" is from 1821. Temperamental "of or pertaining to temperament" is from 1646; in the sense of "moody" it is recorded from 1907.