phlegm

noun

1
: viscid mucus secreted in abnormal quantity in the respiratory passages
2
: the one of the four humors (see humor sense 2c) in ancient and medieval physiology that was believed to be cold and moist and to cause lethargy and dullness
3
a
: dull or apathetic coldness or indifference
b
: intrepid coolness or calm fortitude
phlegmy adjective

Examples of phlegm in a Sentence

He displayed remarkable phlegm in very dangerous conditions. a man of remarkable phlegm, never showing enthusiasm nor displeasure
Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
The cough is typically a dry cough, without phlegm. Brenda Goodman, CNN, 25 Oct. 2024 Hippocrates was guided in his thinking by the theory of humoral medicine, which posited that there are four humors (blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile), which must be balanced for good health. Nina Elkadi, JSTOR Daily, 2 Oct. 2024 Baby wet cough: A wet cough causes phlegm or mucus (which contains white blood cells to help fight germs) to form in the baby's airways. Evan Forster, Parents, 17 June 2024 Depending on what those results show, the next step can be a blood test or a phlegm sample. Melody Schreiber, NPR, 2 May 2024 See all Example Sentences for phlegm 

Word History

Etymology

Middle English fleume, fleem, flemne "one of the four humors, temperament in which this humor is predominant (alleged to cause indolence or stolidity), bodily discharge, mucus," borrowed from Anglo-French fleume, flume, flegme (continental Old French flegme), borrowed from Late Latin phlegmat-, phlegma, borrowed from Greek phlegmat-, phlégma "flame, fire, inflammation, one of the four humors, white or colorless body secretion (as mucus, saliva)," from phleg-, stem of phlégein "to burn up, consume, kindle, fire up, (intransitive) blaze, gleam" + -mat-, -ma, resultative noun suffix; *phleg- going back to Indo-European *bhleg- "shine, be bright," whence also, with varying ablaut, Germanic *blak- "flash, shine, burn" (see black entry 1), Latin fulgō, fulgere, later fulgeō, fulgēre "to shine brightly, flash, lighten" (< *bhl̥g-), Tocharian B palkäṃ "shines," pälketär "burns, glows"

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of phlegm was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near phlegm

Cite this Entry

“Phlegm.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/phlegm. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

phlegm

noun
1
: thick mucus produced in abnormal quantity in the respiratory passages
2
a
: cold indifference
b
: calm fortitude
phlegmy adjective

Medical Definition

phlegm

noun
1
: viscid mucus secreted in abnormal quantity in the respiratory passages
2
: the one of the four humors (see humor sense 2) of ancient and medieval physiology that was believed to be cold and moist and to cause lethargy and dullness

More from Merriam-Webster on phlegm

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