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Permanent link for this word: phlegmatic

Jun 16, 2009

This week's theme
Medicinal words to describe people

This week's words
choleric
phlegmatic
sanguine
melancholic
bilious

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A.Word.A.Day

with Anu Garg

phlegmatic

PRONUNCIATION:

(fleg-MAT-ik)

MEANING:

adjective:
1. Having a sluggish temperament; apathetic.
2. Calm or composed.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Latin phlegmaticus, from Greek phlegmatikos, from phlegm (inflammation, the humor phlegm supposedly as a result of heat), from phlegein (to burn).

USAGE:

"So why are Israelis almost hysterical about the Iranian threat, while South Koreans are phlegmatic about the North Korean threat?"
Gwynne Dyer; Koreans, Israelis and Nukes; The Korea Times (Seoul); May 26, 2009.

See more usage examples of phlegmatic in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

Is not dread of thirst when your well is full, thirst that is unquenchable? -Kahlil Gibran, mystic, poet, and artist (1883-1931)

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