phlegm

plural phlegms

1. historicaluncountableusuallyOne of the four humors making up the body in ancient and mediaeval medicine; said to be cold and moist, and often identified with mucus.First known use 13th c.

   Each person's unique mixture of these substances determines his temperament: a predominance of blood gives a sanguine temperament; a predominance of phlegm makes one phlegmatic; yellow bile, bilious (or choleric); and black bile, melancholic.

   1993, William Dalrymple, City of Djinns, HarperCollins

2. uncountableusuallyViscid mucus produced by the body, later especially mucus expelled from the bronchial passages by coughing.First known use 14th c.

   Even some members of the new bourgeoisie indulge in conspicuously boorish behavior, like hawking phlegm onto the pavement or picking their noses at business meetings.

   2005, "Endangered Species?" Hannah Beech, Time, 14 Nov 2005

3. historicaluncountableusuallyalchemyA watery distillation, especially one obtained from plant matter; an aqueous solution.First known use 16th c.

   The attempts made to analyse vegetable substances previous to 1720, merely produced their resolution into the supposed elements of the chemists of those days, namely, salts, Earths, phlegm, and sulphur.

   1812, Humphry Davy, The Elements of Chemical Philosophy, Introduction, Part I. Vol. I, pp. 50-51

4. uncountableusuallyCalmness of temperament, composure; also seen negatively, sluggishness, indifference.First known use 16th c.

   Orloff's phlegm broke completely, and he snatched at the monocle as it dropped[.]

   1941, Isaac Asimov, The Early Asimov, Volume 2, published 1974, page 180

   1 more example

   But Swedish Nazis also talked of the necessity of saving Sweden from Bolshevism, and with the menacing Berlin radio gnawing in their ears many Swedes lost their Scandinavian phlegm.

   1942 October 5, “Warning to Sweden”, in Time