Etymologically
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phlegma

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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

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