Choleric

adjective

Enraged; described by or related to anger and irritation
Easily or frequently angered

Usage

We all get into bad moods sometimes, snapping at others and finding reasons to get angry. But for some people, this mood is simply a way of life, forming a testy, volatile part of their nature. Such choleric people can erupt at the slightest provocation, making it a smart idea to tread lightly around them.

Choleric is an adjective used to describe people who are - to be blunt - easily ticked off. Anger and irritation always seem to be boiling just beneath the surface of such individuals; you may be constantly unsure of what will set them off, or you might be aware of just how frequently everything can push them over the edge. A tendency for passionate emotion and, often, strength of character are often associated with people who are choleric; however, the word specifically refers to the expression of this passion through rage. As a result, choleric implies a negative connotation: it might be nice to feel strongly about your opinions, but most people don't care to tiptoe around someone's temper.

Sometimes choleric is also used as a general way to describe the condition of being angry. This sense of the word can characterize a person as being in a state of rage (as in, "that choleric young man charging toward you with his fists up") or an object as being in some way caused by or a sign of anger (like the choleric remarks of a curmudgeonly old man).

Example: The choleric janitor was infamous for yelling at passersby over the slightest marks they left on his floors.

Example: The boxer's choleric nature often lent him a fiery energy during his matches.

Origin

Choleric is related to the Latin cholera (literally "the jaundice"), a term which describes stomach bile and sickness. Originally appearing in English in the 14th century as colrik, the word initially described someone whose personality was in some way ailing or afflicted by sickness. In fact, the word's modern meaning developed as a result of the idea that anger was caused by "bile" in the personality. Choleric can be traced back even further to the Late Latin term cholericus, an adjective which meant "sickly" or "containing bile."

Derivative Words

Cholerically: This adverb characterizes an action as being related to anger or performed by someone with a hot temper.

Example: "Hey ump! What're you, blind?" the baseball manager yelled cholerically from the dugout.

Choler: This somewhat dated noun describes to a tendency to anger easily. Choler also used to refer to bile, a rather unattractive fluid produced by the liver, although this meaning isn't used much in modern medicine. This meaning of choler in turn gave rise to the name of the disease cholera, which today refers to a certain bacterial infection of the small intestine. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cholera

Example: Afraid of their manager's choler, the baseball players took great care to agree with whatever opinions he voiced.

Example: The gruesome illustrations in the old medical textbook showed an unfortunate patient afflicted with excess choler.

In Literature

From Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow:

That he might make his appearance before his mistress in the true style of a cavalier, he borrowed a horse from the farmer with whom he was domiciliated, a choleric old Dutchman of the name of Hans Van Ripper, and, thus gallantly mounted, issued forth like a knight-errant in quest of adventures.

Here, choleric is used to characterize the old Dutch farmer with whom Ichabod Crane is staying as cantankerous and hot-tempered.

Mnemonic

Choleric will holler it