Humoural

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Of or concerning the four bodily fluids believed in medieval medicine to govern health and temperament ; involving or affecting a person's mood or emotional state
2. Pertaining to the supposed bodily liquids that ancient and medieval physicians thought controlled physical and mental qualities ; connected to someone's disposition or frame of mind
3. Based on the theory of four vital body fluids that determined constitution and character in classical medicine ; relating to emotional tone or psychological disposition

Etymology: "Humoural" is simply an older spelling of "humoral", and the story runs back to the ancient medical theory that the body was filled with four fluids, or humours. Latin "hūmor" meant moisture or fluid, and Medieval Latin formed "hūmorālis" from it, adding the adjective ending that turns a noun into a description of something belonging to it. Middle English took the term in forms like "humerale" and "humorale," which then shifted toward the spelling "humoural" seen here. The word's sense came from the four humours of classical and medieval physiology: blood, phlegm, yellow bile and black bile. A person's health and temperament were thought to depend on the balance among them, so "humoral" described anything relating to these bodily fluids. The idea behind it was that a fluid could shape character, which is why later English gave us words like "humour" for mood or disposition.