English Explanatory Dictionary

spleen

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. In vertebrates, including humans, a ductless vascular gland, located in the left upper abdomen near the stomach, which destroys old red blood cells, removes debris from the bloodstream, acts as a reservoir of blood, and produces lymphocytes.
  2. A bad mood; spitefulness. Compare gall.
  3. A sudden motion or action; a fit; a freak; a whim.
  4. Melancholy; hypochondriacal affections.
  5. A fit of immoderate laughter or merriment.
verb
  1. To dislike.
  2. To annoy or irritate.
  3. To complain; to rail; to vent one's spleen.
  4. To remove the spleen, or, by extension, to gore.
  5. To excise or remove.

Pronunciation

splēn /spliːn/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-AcpoKrane-spleen.wav

Word forms

spleen spleens spleening spleened

Etymology

From Middle English splene, splen, from Anglo-Norman espleen and Old French esplein, esplen, from Latin splēn (“milt”), from Ancient Greek σπλήν (splḗn, “the spleen”). Doublet of lien. Partially displaced the native English term milt.

Synonyms

lien milt

Related words

splen- splenectomy splenetic splenic spleno- splenocleisis splenomegaly splenosis

Derived words

accessory spleen antispleen sago spleen spleenful spleenish spleenless spleenlike spleen stone spleenwort spleeny sugar-coated spleen unspleened vent one's spleen wandering spleen waxy spleen

Translations

Afrikaans: milt Ahtna: cʼetaeleʼ Albanian: shpretkë Southern Altai: телӱӱн Southern Altai: кӧк буур Ao: tepa (Chungli) Arabic: طِحَال Arabic: طحال Armenian: փայծաղ Old Armenian: փայծաղն Asturian: bazu Azerbaijani: dalaq West Coast Bajau: kura' Bashkir: талаҡ Basque: bare Belarusian: селязёнка Bengali: প্লীহা Bhojpuri: तिल्ली Bulgarian: дала́к Bulgarian: сле́зка Burmese: သရက်ရွက် Buryat: дэлюун Catalan: melsa Chichewa: kapamba Chinese Cantonese: 脾臟 /脾脏 Chinese Mandarin: 脾臟 /脾脏 Chuvash: сула Cornish: felgh Czech: slezina Danish: milt Daur: delukin Dhivehi: ހުންކޮށި Dutch: milt Egyptian: M22-M22-Sm-m-F51 Erzya: шечей Esperanto: lieno Estonian: põrn Evenki: ӣлэн Evenki: дэлкин Faroese: milti Faroese: milt Finnish: perna French: rate Galician: bazo Galician: paxarela Georgian: ელენთა
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