Bad-tempered and irritable; showing a sickly, yellowish color. Originally referred to an excess of bile causing illness and irritability.
From Latin 'biliosus' meaning 'full of bile,' from 'bilis' (bile). In medieval medicine, excess bile was thought to cause anger and illness, giving us both the physical (yellowish, sickly) and emotional (irritable) meanings.
Think 'BILL-ious' - imagine someone so angry about paying bills that they turn yellow-green with rage! The connection between bile (that bitter digestive fluid) and being bitter in personality helps you remember both meanings.
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