Phlegm

[flem] /flɛm/

noun
1.
the thick mucus secreted in the respiratory passages and discharged through the mouth, especially that occurring in the lungs and throat passages, as during a cold.
2.
one of the four elemental bodily humors of medieval physiology, regarded as causing sluggishness or apathy.
3.
sluggishness, indifference, or apathy.
4.
self-possession, calmness, or composure.
/flɛm/
noun
1.
the viscid mucus secreted by the walls of the respiratory tract
2.
(archaic) one of the four bodily humours
3.
apathy; stolidity; indifference
4.
self-possession; imperturbability; coolness
n.

late 14c., fleem “viscid mucus” (the stuff itself and also regarded as a bodily humor), from Old French fleume (13c., Modern French flegme), from Late Latin phlegma, one of the four humors of the body, from Greek phlegma “humor caused by heat,” lit “inflammation, heat,” from phlegein “to burn,” related to phlox (genitive phlogos) “flame, blaze,” from PIE *bhleg- “to shine, flash,” from root *bhel- (1) “to shine, flash, burn” (see bleach (v.)). Modern form is attested from c.1660. The “cold, moist” humor of the body, in medieval physiology, it was believed to cause apathy.

phlegm (flěm)
n.

phlegm’y adj.
phlegm
(flěm)
Thick mucus produced by the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract, as during a cold or other respiratory infection.