Sanguine is an interesting word. I am no etymologist, but for some reason (most likely due to a book I have read in the past) I associate "sanguine" with blood. A quick search on the internet confirms that the second listed definition of the word is "blood red", and further down the list of related terms are "bloodthirsty" and "bloodshed". Synonyms for sanguine include "murderous". Sangrias are often red as well, I believe.
Sanguine is derived from the Latin word "sanguis" for blood. So I do get quite confused when the top-ranked definition for sanguine is "marked by eager hopefulness, confidently optimistic". Does the optimism come from a murderous intent to smile in spite of difficulty? Does a rush of blood promote the flight-or-fight bodily response that affords an eager hopefulness for survival? There is most likely a logical explanation for the discrepancy in meaning behind this word (perhaps it is just anachronistic terminology), but I will always wonder for a moment whether I should smile at or flee from a person feeling sanguine.
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