Entry · catalog no. 0704
youngblood
/ /ˈjʌŋblʌd/ /YUNG-blud
noun · National · 1970s
✓ Verified
1.
A young man, addressed by an older one — half greeting, half acknowledgment that he has things left to learn. Carries affection and rank at once.
“Slow down, youngblood, that money will still be there Friday.”
Origin & Attribution
Black address term built on 'blood' as kin, common in Black male speech by the 1970s — poolrooms, barbershops, bandstands — wherever elders sized up the next generation. The 1978 film Youngblood and its War soundtrack carried the address to a national audience.
1970s
Common elder-to-younger address in Black male social spaces
1978
Film 'Youngblood,' scored by War, takes the address as its title
Region of origin
West
Midwest
N.East
South
Nationwide
National · 1970s
Spoken by
Older Black men addressing younger ones
$YOUNGBThe Record · cultural traction
▲ Steady61 yrs
ahead of the mainstream
60/100
peak cultural energy
Introduced to English by the culture — logged here before the mainstream caught on.
Cultural usage — the recordMainstream search interest
First used
1965
in the culture
Cultural energy indexed from documented usage, search interest, and citation frequency. The recorded date is the archive’s permanent point of record.
Hear it spoken
By region — how it actually sounds
@auntiereg
Atlanta, GA
@deltasoul
Memphis, TN
Contribute your pronunciation
Citations & Sources
■
Youngblood (film), soundtrack by War — 1978
film · verified
■
+ Cite a sourceGreen's Dictionary of Slang, 'blood' — documented Black usage
reference
See also