Definition

Noun: * Yellow bile: One of the four bodily humors in ancient and medieval physiology, believed to be secreted by the liver and responsible for traits of anger, irritability, and a choleric temperament.

Usage

• Yellow bile is a historical medical and philosophical concept, not a term used in modern medicine. It is primarily encountered in discussions of historical texts, the history of medicine, or classical theories of personality.
• It is often used in conjunction with the other three humors: blood, phlegm, and black bile.

Examples

• According to the doctrine of the four humors, an excess of yellow bile was thought to cause a person to be quick-tempered and ambitious.
• The ancient physician Galen attributed fevers and inflammatory diseases to an imbalance involving yellow bile.
• In literature, a character described as being full of yellow bile is likely to be portrayed as irascible or jealous.

Advanced Usage

• Choler: This is a direct synonym for yellow bile and is the root of the adjective "choleric."
• Humoral theory: The overarching system of medicine in which yellow bile played a key role.
  • The diagnosis was based entirely on the principles of humoral theory, focusing on the balance of blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile.

Variants and Related Words

• Choler (n): A synonym for yellow bile.
• Choleric (adj): Describing a personality type associated with an excess of yellow bile; easily angered, hot-tempered.
  • He has a choleric disposition.
• Bilious (adj): Originally meaning "affected by or associated with an excess of bile (yellow bile)," now often used to describe someone who is irritable or bad-tempered.
  • She was feeling bilious after the argument.

Synonyms

• Choler

Related Concepts and Phrases

• The four humors: The collective term for blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile.
• Humoral imbalance: The supposed cause of disease in ancient medicine, often involving an excess or deficiency of yellow bile.
• Sanguine, phlegmatic, melancholic, choleric: The four temperament types corresponding to the dominance of blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile, respectively.

Noun

1. a humor that was once believed to be secreted by the liver and to cause irritability and anger