Phlegm
Phlegm (flem) , noun
[French phlegme, flegme, Latin phlegma, from Greek fle`gma a flame, inflammation, phlegm, a morbid, clammy humor in the body, from fle`gein to burn. Compare Phlox, Flagrant, Flame, Bleak, a., and Fluminate.]
1.
One of the four humors of which the ancients supposed the blood to be composed. See Humor. — Arbuthnot
2.
(Physiology) Viscid mucus secreted in abnormal quantity in the respiratory and digestive passages.
3.
(Old Chemistry) A watery distilled liquor, in distinction from a spirituous liquor. — Crabb
4.
Sluggishness of temperament; dullness; want of interest; indifference; coldness.
They judge with fury, but they write with phlegm.