Blood is thicker than water

src: takingbackthebible.files.wordpress.com

In modern society, the proverb "blood is thicker than water" is used to imply that family relationships are always more important than friends.

Video Blood is thicker than water

History

The equivalent proverb in German (originally: Blut ist dicker als Wasser), first appeared in a different form in the medieval German beast epic Reinhart Fuchs (c. 1180; English: Reynard the Fox) by Heinrich der Glîchezære. The 13th-century Heidelberg manuscript reads in part, "ouch hoer ich sagen, das sippe bl?t von wazzere niht verdirbet" (lines 265-266). In English we read, "I also hear it said, kin-blood is not spoiled by water." which may in part due to the high seas being tamed refer to distance not changing familial ties or duties.

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."

By 1670, the modern version was included in John Ray's collected Proverbs, and later appeared in Sir Walter Scott's novel Guy Mannering (1815): "Weel -- Blud's [sic] thicker than water -- she's welcome to the cheeses." and in English reformer Thomas Hughes's Tom Brown's School Days (1857).

The phrase was first attested in the United States in Journal of Athabasca Department (1821)." On June 25, 1859, U.S. Navy Commodore Josiah Tattnall, in command of the U.S. Squadron in Far Eastern waters, made this adage a part of U.S. history when explaining why he had given aid to the British squadron in an attack on Taku Forts at the mouth of the Pei Ho River, thereby abandoning the strict American policy of neutrality.

Maps Blood is thicker than water

Other interpretations

Modern commentators, authors Albert Jack and R. Richard Pustelniak, claim the original meaning of the expression was that the ties between people who've made a blood covenant were stronger than ties formed by "the water of the womb". However, no known historical sources support this.

The use of the word "blood" to refer to kin or familial relations has roots dating back to Greek and Roman traditions.. This usage of the term was common in the English-speaking world at least as early as the mid 1300s. Because English speakers around that time would have understood the word "blood" as referring to family, it is likely that the use of "blood" in the expression "blood is thicker than water" would also have been understood by English speakers referring to family.

Although not specifically related to the expression "blood is thicker than water", H.C. Trumbull notes an interesting comparison of blood and milk in the Arab world:

blood is thicker than water | More Than Sayings

src: 3.bp.blogspot.com

In popular culture

More recently, Aldous Huxley's Ninth Philosopher's Song (1920) approached the proverb differently, stating, "Blood, as all men know, than water's thicker / But water's wider, thank the Lord, than blood."

"Blood is thicker than water" is:

the title of a series of mixtapes by Nu Jerzey Devil, The Game, Black Wall Street Records, Dipset and Lil Wayne, produced by DJ Haze.
a mixtape by Fredo Santana and Chief Keef .
a song title by Impaled Nazarene, off the 1994 album Suomi Finland Perkele.
a song title by Black Label Society, off the album Shot to Hell.
a book by W. A. Hoffman, now out of print.
tattooed on the forearm of NBA player Trevor Ariza, dedicated to his little brother who fell out of a window when he was 6 years old.

"Thicker than water" is:

the name of a 1997 album and song by H₂O
a tattoo that M. Shadows of Avenged Sevenfold had across his chest.
the name of a tattoo studio at 181 Avenue B in New York City.
the English translation of the name of a 2014 Swedish TV show, Tjockare än vatten.
the 2000 documentary surf film directed by singer/songwriter Jack Johnson and his film school friend Chris Malloy.
the title of the 8th episode of the American TV series Under the Dome.
the title of the 1st episode of the American reality TV series The Real Housewives of New Jersey.