Spleen

Pronunciation

• enPR: splÄ“n, IPA: /spliːn/
• Rhymes: -iːn

Origin

From Old French esplen, from Latin splēn, from Ancient Greek σπλήν (splēn, "the spleen").

Full definition of spleen

Noun

1. (anatomy, immunology) In vertebrates, including humans, a ductless vascular gland, located in the left upper abdomen near the stomach, which destroys old red blood cells, removes debris from the bloodstream, acts as a reservoir of blood, and produces lymphocytes.
2. (archaic, except in the set phrase "to vent one's spleen") A bad mood; spitefulness.
• Alexander PopeIn noble minds some dregs remain,
  Not yet purged off, of spleen and sour disdain.
3. (obsolete, rare) A sudden motion or action; a fit; a freak; a whim.
• ShakespeareA thousand spleens bear her a thousand ways.
4. (obsolete) Melancholy; hypochondriacal affections.
• Alexander PopeBodies changed to various forms by spleen.
• WordsworthThere is a luxury in self-dispraise:
  And inward self-disparagement affords
  To meditative spleen a grateful feast.
5. A fit of immoderate laughter or merriment.
• ShakespeareThy silly thought enforces my spleen.

Synonyms

• milt

Derived terms

Related terms

• splenomegaly

Verb

1. (obsolete, transitive) To dislike.----