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melancholy

 - 5 dictionary results

mel⋅an⋅chol⋅y

  [mel-uhn-kol-ee] noun, plural -chol⋅ies, adjective
Use melancholy in a Sentence
–noun
1. a gloomy state of mind, esp. when habitual or prolonged; depression.
2. sober thoughtfulness; pensiveness.
3. Archaic.
a. the condition of having too much black bile, considered in ancient and medieval medicine to cause gloominess and depression.
b. black bile.
–adjective
4. affected with, characterized by, or showing melancholy; mournful; depressed: a melancholy mood.
5. causing melancholy or sadness; saddening: a melancholy occasion.
6. soberly thoughtful; pensive.
Origin:
1275–1325; ME melancholie < LL melancholia < Gk melancholía condition of having black bile, equiv. to melan- melan- + chol() bile + -ia -ia

Related forms:
mel⋅an⋅chol⋅i⋅ly, adverb
mel⋅an⋅chol⋅i⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
1. sadness, dejection, despondency. 2. seriousness. 4. gloomy, despondent, blue, dispirited, sorrowful, dismal, doleful, glum, downcast. 6. serious.

Antonyms:
1. cheer, happiness. 5. happy.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To melancholy
mel·an·chol·y   (měl'ən-kŏl'ē)   
n.  

  1. Sadness or depression of the spirits; gloom: "There is melancholy in the wind and sorrow in the grass" (Charles Kuralt).

  2. Pensive reflection or contemplation.

  3. Archaic

    1. Black bile.

    2. An emotional state characterized by sullenness and outbreaks of violent anger, believed to arise from black bile.

adj.  

  1. Affected with or marked by depression of the spirits; sad. See Synonyms at sad.

  2. Tending to promote sadness or gloom: a letter with some melancholy news.

  3. Pensive; thoughtful.


[Middle English melancolie, from Old French, from Late Latin melancholia, from Greek melankholiā : melās, melan-, black + kholē, bile; see ghel-2 in Indo-European roots.]
mel'an·chol'i·ly adv., mel'an·chol'i·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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Word Origin & History

melancholy  (n.)
c.1303, "condition characterized by sullenness, gloom, irritability," from O.Fr. melancholie, from L.L. melancholia, from Gk. melankholia "sadness," lit. "black bile," from melas (gen. melanos) "black" (see melanin) + khole "bile" (see Chloe). Medieval physiology attributed depression to excess of "black bile," a secretion of the spleen and one of the body's four "humors." Adj. sense of "sullen, gloomy" is from 1526; sense of "deplorable" (of a fact or state of things) is from 1710.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: mel·an·choly
Pronunciation: 'mel-&n-"käl-E
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural -chol·ies
1 a : an abnormal state attributed to an excess of black bile and characterized by irascibility or depression b : BLACK BILE c : MELANCHOLIA
2 : depression or dejection of spirits —melancholy adjective
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

melancholy mel·an·chol·y (měl'ən-kŏl'ē)
n.

  1. Sadness or depression of the spirits; gloom.

  2. Melancholia.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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