PHLEM, noun [Gr. inflammation; and pituitous matter, to burn; hence the word must have originally expressed the matter formed by suppuration.] 1. Cold animal fluid; water matter; one of the four humors of which the ancients supposed the blood to be composed. 2. In common usage, bronchial mucus; the thick viscid matter secreted in the throat. 3. Among chimists, water, or the water of distillation. 4. Dullness; coldness; sluggishness; indifference.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI