English Explanatory Dictionary

bile

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A bitter brownish-yellow or greenish-yellow secretion produced by the liver, stored in the gall bladder, and discharged into the duodenum where it aids the process of digestion.
  2. Bitterness of temper; ill humour; irascibility.
  3. Either of two of the four humours, black bile or yellow bile, in ancient and medieval physiology.
noun
  1. A boil (kind of swelling).
verb
  1. Pronunciation spelling of boil.
name
  1. A Bantu language spoken in Nigeria.

Pronunciation

bīl /baɪl/ /ˈbaɪ.əl/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-bile.wav

Word forms

bile biles biling bileing biled

Etymology

From Middle French bile, from Latin bīlis (“bile”). Partially displaced native English gall (“bile”), from Middle English galle, from Old English galla, ġealla (“gall, bile”).

Synonyms

bili- chole- gall

Related words

Wiktionary’s coverage of Bile terms

Derived words

atrabilious bile acid bile duct bileful bile pigment bile salt bile soap bilestone biliary biliary tract biligenesis bilious bilirubin biliuria black bile violet red bile agar yellow bile
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
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