Skip to content

bile

bile

noun BEE-leh Rare
Body & Health Health & Illness

Origin: From Latin 'bilis' (bile, gall).

Also means

gall

Usage Note

Bile is feminine: la bile. It refers both to the liver secretion (a medical term) and figuratively to anger or bitterness: mandare giù la bile (to swallow one's bile, i.e. to suppress anger). The idiomatic phrase fare venire la bile means 'to make someone furious'. The adjective biliare (biliary) is used in medical contexts such as calcoli biliari (gallstones).

Examples

"La bile aiuta la digestione dei grassi."

Natural Translation

Bile helps the digestion of fats.

Explore Italian by topic