bloodletting

Plural: bloodlettings

Noun

• formerly used as a treatment to reduce excess blood (one of the four humors of medieval medicine)
• indiscriminate slaughter
  • "ten days after the bloodletting Hitler gave the action its name"
• The archaic practice of treating illness by removing some blood, believed to be tainted, from the stricken person.
• The diminishment of any resource with the hope that this will lead to a positive effect.
• A circumstance, such as a battle, where a large amount of blood is likely to be spilled through violence.

Verb

• present participle and gerund of bloodlet

Examples

• Yet another round of corporate bloodletting.

Synonyms

battue, bloodbath, bloodshed, bleeding

Related Words

bloodlet