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“bilious”
bilious (adjective), more bilious, most bilious
1. Relating to bile, a dark green to yellowish brown fluid produced by the liver of most vertebrates, that aids the digestion of lipids in the small intestine: A bilious condition refers to suffering from liver dysfunction; especially, an excessive secretion of gall.
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The term bilious also indicates a peevish or an ill-natured disposition.
The word bilious goes back to the old belief that there were four bodily humors, black bile, yellow bile, phlegm, and blood, and these four humors determined a person's temperament.
Bilious was the personality type associated with an excess of yellow bile.
2. Etymology: bilious derives from the French bilieux, which in turn came from bilis, the Latin term for "bile".
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bili-, bil- +
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