phlegmy

[flem-ee]

adjective, phlegm·i·er, phlegm·i·est.

Origin of phlegmy

First recorded in 1540–50; phlegm + -y¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Phlegmy coughs shook the air of the bookshop, bulging out the dingy curtains.
Ulysses
James Joyce
A phlegmy cough, my dear lawyer; a complaint which is really most ridiculously absurd!
The Mysteries of Paris, Volume 3 of 6
Eugne Sue
Can you imagine that a man could stand calmly and hear himself charged with having a phlegmy cough?
The Mysteries of Paris, Volume 3 of 6
Eugne Sue
Gentlemen, I not only declare that my honourable opponent had not a phlegmy cough, but I trust he never will have one.'
The Mysteries of Paris, Volume 3 of 6
Eugne Sue
Either he might have said nothing, or contented himself with declaring that I had not the phlegmy cough.
The Mysteries of Paris, Volume 3 of 6
Eugne Sue

1540s, from phlegm + -y (2).