phlegma

Latin

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek φλέγμα (phlégma).

Noun

phlegma n (genitive phlegmatis); third declension

1. phlegm

Declension

Third-declension noun (neuter, imparisyllabic non-i-stem).

	singular	plural
nominative	phlegma	phlegmata
genitive	phlegmatis	phlegmatum
dative	phlegmatī	phlegmatibus
accusative	phlegma	phlegmata
ablative	phlegmate	phlegmatibus
vocative	phlegma	phlegmata

Descendants

• Catalan: flegma
• Galician: freima, flegma
• Italian: flemma
  • French: flemme, flegme
• Old French: fleume
  • → Middle Dutch: fleume, fleuma
    • Dutch: fluim
• Polish: flegma
• Portuguese: flegma, fleuma, fleima
• Romanian: flegmă
• Spanish: flema

References

• “phlegma”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• phlegma in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.

Portuguese

Noun

phlegma f (plural phlegmas)

1. Pre-reform spelling (until Brazil 1943/Portugal 1911) of fleuma.