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Definition of phlegmatic - 5 dictionary results
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phleg⋅mat⋅ic

  [fleg-mat-ik]
Use phlegmatic in a Sentence
–adjective
1. not easily excited to action or display of emotion; apathetic; sluggish.
2. self-possessed, calm, or composed.
3. of the nature of or abounding in the humor phlegm.
Also, phleg⋅mat⋅i⋅cal.

Origin:
1300–50; < LL phlegmaticus < Gk phlegmatikós pertaining to phlegm, equiv. to phlegmat- (s. of phlégma phlegm ) + -ikos -ic; r. ME fleumatik < MF fleumatique < LL, as above

Related forms:
phleg⋅mat⋅i⋅cal⋅ly, adverb
phleg⋅mat⋅i⋅cal⋅ness, phleg⋅mat⋅ic⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
1. stoical, cool, cold, uninterested, dull, torpid. 2. cool, collected, unruffled, placid, quiet.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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phleg·mat·ic   (flěg-māt'ĭk)   
adj.  

  1. Of or relating to phlegm; phlegmy.

  2. Having or suggesting a calm, sluggish temperament; unemotional.


[Middle English fleumatik, from Old French fleumatique, from Late Latin phlegmaticus, full of phlegm, from Greek phlegmatikos, from phlegma, phlegmat-, heat, the humor phlegm, from phlegein, to burn; see bhel-1 in Indo-European roots.]
phleg·mat'i·cal·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

phlegmatic 
"cool, calm, self-possessed," and in a more pejorative sense, "cold, dull, apathetic," 1574, from lit. sense "abounding in phlegm (as a bodily humor)" (1340), from O.Fr. fleumatique, from L.L. phlegmaticus, from Gk. phlegmatikos "abounding in phlegm" (see phlegm).
"A verry flewmatike man is in the body lustles, heuy and slow." [John of Trevisa, transl. of Bartholomew de Glanville's "De proprietatibus rerum," 1398]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: phleg·mat·ic
Pronunciation: fleg-'mat-ik
Function: adjective
1 : resembling, consisting of, or producing the humor phlegm
2 : having or showing a slow and stolid temperament —phleg·mat·i·cal·ly /-i-k(&-)lE/ adverb
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

phlegmatic phleg·mat·ic (flěg-māt'ĭk) or phleg·mat·i·cal (-ĭ-kəl)
adj.

  1. Of or relating to phlegm.

  2. Having or suggesting a calm, sluggish temperament; unemotional.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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