Anger or irritability, especially when sudden and intense; also historically refers to yellow bile, one of the four bodily humors.
From Old French 'colere,' from Latin 'cholera,' ultimately from Greek 'chole' (bile). In medieval medicine, excess yellow bile was thought to cause angry temperament.
Medieval doctors actually believed angry people had too much yellow bile! This word connects Shakespeare's 'choleric' characters to real bile chemistry—they were making medical guesses about emotions.
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