Other forms: biles
Bile is a bitter fluid made by the liver, or bitter anger. The bile duct, full of bile, spew bile.
The liver makes it and the gall bladder stores it, and bile breaks up fat so the gut can absorb it. The angry sense comes from the old theory of the four humours, in which black bile caused melancholy and yellow bile caused rage.
1nounbileA bitter fluid made by the liver.
“After vomiting all night, he was bringing up nothing but yellow bile.”
2nounangerBitter anger.
“The review was full of bile, attacking the author personally rather than the book.”
bile is a fluid, or an anger.
Latin bilis names the fluid, and reached English through French. It partly displaced the native word gall.
Latin
bīlis — bile
Middle French
bile
English, today
bile
Built from
From Middle French bile, from Latin bīlis (“bile”). Partially displaced native gall, from galle, from ġealla, ġealla (“gall, bile”).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA