phlegma

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈpʰɫɛɡ.ma]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈflɛɡ.ma]^[1]

Forms

phlegma n (genitive phlegmatis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek φλέγμα (phlégma, “flame, heat; inflammation; phlegm”),^[1][2][3] from φλέγω (phlégō, “to burn”).^[4] Köbler traces it to Proto-Indo-European *bʰleg- (“to shine, burn”).^[3] It is also spelled flegma.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Palladius, in his work on agriculture, uses it of dissolving phlegm.^[2][5] Köbler dates him to the end of the 4th or beginning of the 5th century AD.^[3]

Semantic evolution

It was a clammy humour of the body, phlegm, a post-classical medical word found in Palladius, Vegetius' veterinary work, Gargilius Martialis and Jerome.^[2][6] Isidore explains the name from a Greek word for cold, as phlegm is a cold humour, one of the four humours.^[7]

In medieval Latin it was phlegm, mucus, slime.^[8][9] Its descendants include Italian flemma, French flegme and Spanish flema.^[1] English phlegm is recorded in the late 14th century as one of the four humours, through Old French fleume.^[4]

Timeline

• end of 4th / beginning of 5th century AD – Palladius uses it.^[2][3]
• c. 383–419/420 AD – Jerome uses it.^[2][3]
• c. 560–636 AD – Isidore explains its name.^[7][3]
• late 14th century – English phlegm is recorded.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. Phlegm, mucus; the humour phlegm.^[2][1]

Word family

• phlegmaticus

Related words

• English phlegm

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
6. ^ Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
7. ^ a b Isidore of Seville, Etymologiarum sive Originum libri XX, ed. W. M. Lindsay (Oxford, 1911).
8. ^ Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
9. ^ Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press