Word of the Day: PHLEGMATIC

Cool, composed, and maybe full of phlegm

phlegmatic (adj) - showing a cool, calm, and unemotional disposition; not easily roused to action or passion; full of phlegm [fleg-mat-ik]

• phlegm is a thick secretion of mucous created by the body's respiratory system

• phlegmy means of, pertaining to, or characterized by an abundance of phlegm

BREAKDOWN: The word phlegm is derived from the root FLAM-, which means flame in words like flamboyant and inflame. Phlegm was one of Hippocrates’s four physiological humors, the bodily fluids of the body thought to determine a person’s temperament and features. Ironically, the phlegm humor was categorized as cool and wet and acted as a counter to excess heat in the body.

See also: melancholy, sanguine

“My whole life has been a mere chain of sad and futile opposition to the dictates of either heart or reason. The presence of an enthusiast makes me as cold as a midwinter's day, and, I believe, frequent association with a listless phlegmatic would make me an impassioned dreamer.” —Mikhail Lermontov

[Our Wednesday Wildcards are fascinating and important words that are not necessarily derived from classical roots.]