spleen
UK: spliːn | US: spliːn
n. 1. A vascular organ involved in filtering blood and immune response (anatomy).
n. 2. Bad temper or irritability (archaic/figurative).
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The word "spleen" traces back to Old French esplen, from Latin splēn, borrowed from Greek splḗn. Its Indo-European root likely relates to the concept of "filling" or "swelling," reflecting the organ’s spongy texture. By the 16th century, "spleen" acquired a figurative sense of melancholy or anger, influenced by the humoral theory where the spleen was thought to secrete black bile—a fluid linked to irritability.
The surgeon carefully removed the damaged spleen.
In medieval medicine, an excess of black bile was believed to affect the spleen.
His constant complaints were dismissed as mere spleen.
The poet wrote about the "spleen" of urban loneliness.
Shakespeare’s characters often reference spleen as a metaphor for passion.