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The Collaborative International Dictionary
Phlegmatic temperament

Phlegmatic \Phleg*mat"ic\, a. [L. phlegmaticus, Gr. ?: cf. F. phlegmatique.]

  1. Watery. [Obs.] ``Aqueous and phlegmatic.''
    --Sir I. Newton.

  2. Abounding in phlegm; as, phlegmatic humors; a phlegmatic constitution.
    --Harvey.

  3. Generating or causing phlegm. ``Cold and phlegmatic habitations.''
    --Sir T. Browne.

  4. Not easily excited to action or passion; cold; dull; sluggish; heavy; as, a phlegmatic person.
    --Addison.

    Phlegmatic temperament (Old Physiol.), lymphatic temperament. See under Lymphatic.

Usage examples of "phlegmatic temperament".

Sir Henry, as his intimates were to testify, was a man of singularly phlegmatic temperament, even for a British nobleman.

Elizabeth's cat lay on her bed, a tawny torn of considerable size and phlegmatic temperament.

You have a phlegmatic temperament, Louisa, and are perhaps too ill to care what goes on, but I would have thought that Solly would have had something to say for himself by this time.

He lacked the phlegmatic temperament necessary to ignore a ringing telephone.

Bush was tense and excited, as far as his stoical training and phlegmatic temperament would allow him to be.

As the two beasthandlers, brothers sharing the same phlegmatic temperament and solid builds, collected their necessaries, Gana kindly fetched out a heavy cloak against the biting cold of between.

As the two beast handlers, brothers sharing the same phlegmatic temperament and solid builds, collected their necessaries, Gana kindly fetched out a heavy cloak against the biting cold of between.

Barkis) to say - he being, as I observed in a former chapter, of a phlegmatic temperament, and not at all conversational - I offered him a cake as a mark of attention, which he ate at one gulp, exactly like an elephant, and which made no more impression on his big face than it would have done on an elephant's.

Certainly their phlegmatic temperament never led to beatings or other abuse.

That particular batch of clones, the SF9s, were notorious for their phlegmatic temperament.

Rhodan tried to arouse the Arkonide from his phlegmatic temperament.