melancholy

Meaning

Noun

1. (countable, historical, uncountable) Black bile, formerly thought to be one of the four "cardinal humours" of animal bodies.
2. (countable, uncountable) Great sadness or depression, especially of a thoughtful or introspective nature.

Adj

Affected with great sadness or depression.

Synonyms

sad

☹️

depression

sadness

gloomy

gloom

grief

depressed

melancholia

dejection

sorrow

sorrowful

doleful

mournful

despondency

dejected

melancholic

downcast

sombre

gloominess

depressing

black bile

somber

unhappiness

unhappy

☹️

despondent

despondence

spleen

dreary

listless

glum

sorrowfulness

blues

misery

dull

dejectedness

blue

miserable

wistful

languid

sullen

sorry

weary

😩

plaintive

pensiveness

plaintiveness

morose

anger

💢

distressed

melancholiac

grieved

Translations

mélancolie

Melancholie

melancolía

malinconia

Schwermut

μελαγχολία

melancolia

melancholie

mélancolique

Trübsinn

schwermütig

weemoed

droefgeestig

melancholisch

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈmɛlənkəli/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: malencolie

Cognate with Latin: ātra bīlis

In summary

From Middle English malencolie, from Old French melancolie, from Ancient Greek μελαγχολία (melankholía, “atrabiliousness”), from μέλας (mélas), μελαν- (melan-, “black, dark, murky”) + χολή (kholḗ, “bile”). Compare the Latin ātra bīlis (“black bile”). The adjectival use is a Middle English innovation, perhaps influenced by the suffixes -y, -ly. Doublet of melancholia.