bile
[bahyl]
- Physiology. a bitter, alkaline, yellow or greenish liquid, secreted by the liver, that aids in absorption and digestion, especially of fats.
- ill temper; peevishness.
- Old Physiology. either of two humors associated with anger and gloominess.
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Compare black bile, yellow bile.
Origin of bile
1655–65; < French < Latin bīlis
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for biles
Historical Examples
That's the one I mane, with the price;—how much was it, Miss Biles?
The Struggles of Brown, Jones, and RobinsonAnthony Trollope
Fields with biles on his legs, & Werner with a Strained Knee.
The Journals of Lewis and ClarkMeriwether Lewis and William Clark
For a month past the party have been troubled with biles, and occasionally with the dysentery.
History of the Expedition under the Command of Captains Lewis and Clark, Vol. I.Meriwether Lewis and William Clark
Miss Biles had already her purse in her hand, ready to pay the legal claim.
The Struggles of Brown, Jones, and RobinsonAnthony Trollope
Miss Biles was busy counting out the cash, but no one was at hand to take it from her.
The Struggles of Brown, Jones, and RobinsonAnthony Trollope
bile1
- a bitter greenish to golden brown alkaline fluid secreted by the liver and stored in the gall bladder. It is discharged during digestion into the duodenum, where it aids the emulsification and absorption of fats
- irritability or peevishness
- archaic either of two bodily humours, one of which (black bile) was thought to cause melancholy and the other (yellow bile) anger
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Word Origin
C17: from French, from Latin bīlis, probably of Celtic origin; compare Welsh bustl bile
bile2
- a Scot word for boil 1
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for biles
bile
n.
1660s, from French bile (17c.) "bile," also, informally, "anger," from Latin bilis "fluid secreted by the liver," also one of the four humors (also known as choler), thus "anger, peevishness" (especially as black bile, 1797).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
bile
(bīl)- A bitter, alkaline, brownish-yellow or greenish-yellow fluid that is secreted by the liver, stored in the gallbladder, and discharged into the duodenum and aids in the emulsification, digestion, and absorption of fats.gall1
- Either of two bodily humors, black bile or yellow bile, in ancient and medieval physiology.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
bile
[bīl]
- A bitter, alkaline, brownish-yellow or greenish-yellow fluid that is secreted by the liver, concentrated and stored in the gallbladder, and discharged into the duodenum of the small intestine. It helps in the digestion of fats and the neutralization of acids, such as the hydrochloric acid secreted by the stomach. Bile consists of salts, acids, cholesterol, lipids, pigments, and water.♦ Bile salts help in the emulsification, digestion, and absorption of fats.♦ Bile pigments are waste products formed by the breakdown of hemoglobin from old red blood cells.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
bile
A bitter fluid produced by the liver and stored in the gallbladder. Bile is discharged into the small intestine when needed to aid in the digestion of fats (see digestive system).
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Note
Bile is sometimes used figuratively to denote bitterness in general: “His writing was full of bile.”
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.