ˌwarm-ˈblooded, a.
(Also ˈwarm-ˌblooded.)
a. Having warm blood; spec. of mammals and birds, which have a uniform high temperature.
| 1793 T. Beddoes Let. Darwin 68 At a temperature considerably below that of warm-blooded animals. 1839 T. Beale Nat. Hist. Sperm Whale 41 All the cetacea, as is well known, are warm-blooded animals. 1889 G. Allen Falling in Love, etc. 80 Even among warm-blooded animals like the bears and dormice, hibernation occurs. |
b. fig. Ardent, fervent, passionate.
| 1831 Scott Cast. Dang. v, Strict discipline,..since the death of that great monarch, had been considerably neglected by the young and warm-blooded valour of England. |
Hence warm-ˈbloodedness, the character or condition of being warm-blooded.
| 1923 J. S. Huxley in Cornh. Mag. Apr. 427 In the birds as in the mammals,..we see the evolution..of physiological characters like warm-bloodedness or efficiency of circulation. 1946 F. E. Zeuner Dating Past xii. 84 Warm-bloodedness and many other characters of the mammals are probably the consequence of a single important aromorph. 1982 N.Y. Times Mag. 7 Feb. 34/4 High metabolisms, a characteristic of the warm-bloodedness of mammals and birds. |