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Atrabilious - 3 dictionary results

at⋅ra⋅bil⋅ious

  [a-truh-bil-yuhs]
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–adjective
1. gloomy; morose; melancholy; morbid.
2. irritable; bad-tempered; splenetic.
Also, at⋅ra⋅bil⋅iar.

Origin:
1645–55; < L ātra bīli(s) black bile + -ous

Related forms:
at⋅ra⋅bil⋅ious⋅ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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at·ra·bil·ious   (āt'rə-bĭl'yəs)   
adj.  
  1. Inclined to melancholy.
  2. Having a peevish disposition; surly.

[From Latin ātra bīlis, black bile (translation of Greek melankhōliā) : ātra, black; see āter- in Indo-European roots + bīlis, bile.]
at'ra·bil'ious·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Atrabilious

At`ra*bil"ious\, a. Melancholic or hypochondriac; atrabiliary. --Dunglision.

A hard-faced, atrabilious, earnest-eyed race. --Lowell.

He was constitutionally atrabilious and scornful. --Froude.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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