Mudblood

"It’s a disgusting thing to call someone. Dirty blood, see. Common blood. It’s ridiculous."

- Ron Weasley explaining the term “Mudblood” to Hermione Granger and Harry Potter

"Mudblood" is a derogatory term for a Muggle-born wizard or witch; that is, individuals with no wizarding parents or grandparents. There does not appear to be any difference in the magical power of Muggle-borns compared to those who are pure-blood or half-blood, but those prejudiced against Muggle-borns consider them to be of "lower breeding" or worth, and undeserving of magic. The term implies that the individual has "dirty blood" and is considered extremely offensive. There are apparently other, less commonly used terms with a similar meaning, such as "creature of dirt".

Use by prejudiced witches and wizards
"The smug look on Malfoy's face flickered. "No one asked your opinion, you filthy little Mudblood," he spat. Harry knew at once that Malfoy had said something really bad because there was an instant uproar at his words. Flint had to dive in front of Malfoy to stop Fred and George jumping on him, Alicia shrieked, "How dare you!" and Ron plunged his hand into his robes, pulling out his wand, yelling, "You'll pay for that one, Malfoy!" and pointing it furiously under Flint's arm at Malfoy's face."

- Draco Malfoy throws the slur at Hermione Granger in 1992

Many older wizarding families place great emphasis on blood purity and reject association with Muggles and Muggle-borns, both of whom they consider greatly inferior to themselves. The notion is foremost in the minds of Dark Wizards, Death Eaters, and other followers of Lord Voldemort. It is possible that some well-meaning pureblood families espouse this prejudice as well, but to a less virulent degree. Notably, some pure-bloods, such as members of the Weasley family, reject these prejudices and are labelled "blood traitors" or "Mudblood-lovers" as a result.

The term "Mudblood" is generally not used in polite society, as it is considered highly offensive and vulgar, on par with the racial epithets often heard in the Muggle world. When Draco Malfoy called Hermione Granger one in 1992, he was nearly attacked by several members of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. However, when Lord Voldemort was in control of the Ministry of Magic in 1997, the term became more prevalent, appearing even in the Daily Prophet and Ministry propaganda. This was in line with Death Eater ideology being disseminated to the general public, which claimed that Muggle-borns were not "real" wizards and witches.

Use by Muggle-borns


There are some Muggle-borns who refuse to allow the term to be degrading to them. For example, Lily Evans told her former friend Severus Snape that if he was going to refer to other Muggle-borns as "Mudbloods", then he had to use the term for her as well, and Hermione Granger declared that she was proud to be a "Mudblood" in 1998.

Examples of the term's use
"It means 'dirty blood'. Mudblood is a really foul name for someone who's Muggle-born. Someone with non-magic parents. Someone like me. It's not a term one usually hears in civilised conversation."

- Hermione Granger on the term in 1992

Behind the scenes

 * In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, after Draco Malfoy calls Hermione Granger a "filthy little Mudblood", it is shown that Hermione is already familiar with the term, and she and Rubeus Hagrid explain it to Harry Potter. In the novel, Hermione had never heard the word before, and Ron Weasley explains it to her and Harry.

Notes and references
Sang-de-Bourbe