Etymology

bloodhound

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Today it means: A large scenthound famed for its ability to follow a scent many days old, over vast distances. This dog is often used as a police dog to track missing people, fleeing suspects, or escaped prisoners. Full definition →

Middle English blodhound
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The story

  1. Middle English · inherited fromblodhound
  2. English todaybloodhound

Inherited from Middle English blodhound, blodhond; equivalent to blood + hound. Cognate with Dutch bloedhond (“bloodhound”), Middle Low German blōthunt (“bloodhound”), German Bluthund (“bloodhound”), Danish blodhund (“bloodhound”), Swedish blodhund (“bloodhound”). The detective sense follows from the dog's ability to follow a trail.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.