Cholerics

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A temperament characterized by an excess of bile, often associated with increased anger and irritability
2. A type of personality that is passionate, outspoken, and frequently prone to outbursts of frustration
3. Referring to individuals whose dominant emotions might lead to a fiery and sometimes volatile demeanor

Etymology: Ancient Greek physicians believed the body ran on four fluids, or humours, and an excess of yellow bile (kholḗ, "bile; gall") made a person irascible. The adjective "choleric" grew from this theory: Greek "kholerikós" meant "of or relating to" kholéra, the word for cholera, a disease that was thought to be caused by bile. Latin took the word as "cholericus," and it passed into Middle English through Anglo-Norman and Old French, carrying the sense of a temperament dominated by bile, quick to anger. The plural "cholerics" is the plural of the noun "choleric," a person of that temperament. The word's roots reach back to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "green" or "yellow," a colour the ancients associated with bile.