Melancholy

Melancholy

Noun / Adjective · /ˈmɛl.ən.kɒl.i/

Definition

(Noun) a deep, pensive sadness; a feeling of thoughtful, often quiet or gentle sadness; a mournful or despondent quality; (Adjective) having or expressing a deep, thoughtful sadness; causing or characterised by sadness.

Origin

From Old French melancolie, from Latin melancholia, from Greek melankholia, from melas (black) + kholē (bile). In ancient Greek medicine's humoral theory, melancholy was caused by an excess of black bile — one of the four humours. The person with an excess of black bile was thought to have a characteristically sad, despondent, and contemplative temperament. The medical theory has been abandoned but the word — and the concept — persist.