phlegm
/fˈlem/FLEM
/fˈlɛm/FLEM
Meaningbodily heat
Common meaning: thick mucus
Other meanings: calm temperament
- phlegto burn, blaze; heat in the bodyLiddell & Scott, Greek-English Lexicon (1883), p. 1681 · scan
- mGreek noun ending (-ma) cut short
Journey through time
- Greekφλέγω; φλέγμα‘to burn, blaze’
- Frenchphlegmesource
- Englishphlegm‘thick mucus’ · today
phleg also in: phlegmatic
Sources & notes
Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
- No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
- US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
- No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.
Origin: Built on Greek φλέγω; φλέγμα ‘to burn, blaze; heat in the body’.
Did you know: our wording, based on Skeat, Etymological Dictionary (1898), entry PHLEGM, p. 440 · dictionary scan
Roots
- φλέγω; φλέγμα Greek “to burn, blaze; heat in the body”
Related words
Building blocks are an automatic split · open in app