Emily Dickinson Lexicon

BLEED, v.i. [pret. and pp. bled. Sax. bledan; D. bloeden; G. bluten; to bleed; allied perhaps to Gr. βλυζω.]

1. To lose blood; to run with blood, by whatever means; as, the arm bleeds.
2. To die a violent death, or by slaughter. The lamb thy riot dooms to bleed to-day. – Pope.
3. To issue forth, or drop as blood, from an incision; to lose sap, gum, or juice; as, a tree or a vine bleeds. For me the balm shall bleed. – Pope. The heart bleeds, is a phrase used to denote extreme pain from sympathy or pity.