Phlegm
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: /flɛm/
- Rhymes: -ɛm
Origin
From Old French fleume, Middle French phlegme (French flegme), and their source, Latin phlegma, from Ancient Greek φλÎγμα (phlegma, "flame; inflammation; clammy humor in the body"), from φλÎγειν ("to burn"). Compare phlox, flagrant, flame, bleak (adjective), fulminate.
Full definition of phlegm
Noun
phlegm
(usually uncountable; plural phlegms)- (historical) One of the four humors making up the body in ancient and mediaeval medicine; said to be cold and moist, and often identified with mucus. from 13th c.
- 1993, William Dalrymple, City of Djinns, HarperCollins 1993:Each person's unique mixture of these substances determines his temperament: a predominance of blood gives a sanguine temperament; a predominance of phlegm makes one phlegmatic; yellow bile, bilious (or choleric); and black bile, melancholic.
- Viscid mucus produced by the body, later especially mucus expelled from the bronchial passages by coughing. from 14th c.
- 2005, "Endangered Species?" Hannah Beech, Time, 14 Nov 2005:"Even some members of the new bourgeoisie indulge in conspicuously boorish behavior, like hawking phlegm onto the pavement or picking their noses at business meetings."
- (historical, chemistry, alchemy) A watery distillation, especially one obtained from plant matter; an aqueous solution. from 16th c.
- Calmness of temperament, composure; also seen negatively, sluggishness, indifference. from 16th c.
- 1942, "Warning to Sweden", Time, 5 Oct 1942:But Swedish Nazis also talked of the necessity of saving Sweden from Bolshevism, and with the menacing Berlin radio gnawing in their ears many Swedes lost their Scandinavian phlegm.