yellow bile

noun

1. one of the four elemental bodily humors of medieval physiology, regarded as causing anger; choler.

yellow bile

noun

1. archaic.
   one of the four bodily humours, choler

Word History and Origins

Origin of yellow bile¹

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

Take humoral theory: In the Middle Ages, the body was thought to consist of four liquid components called humors—blood, yellow bile, black bile, and phlegm.

From National Geographic

A hot and dry person was thought to be choleric and ruled by yellow bile, associated with childhood and summer.

From Washington Post

In a skeleton drawing of a galumphing, long-gone dodo, a litany of bodily and emotional states, including guilt and yellow bile, is interwoven with attempts to cope — witchcraft, too much sex, strong imagination and more.

From Los Angeles Times

The Greek physician Hippocrates believed that people’s personalities were governed by the amounts of phlegm, blood, black bile and yellow bile that flowed through their bodies.

From New York Times

The human body contained four viscous liquids or “humors”: phlegm, blood, yellow bile and black bile.

From New York Times