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In the old theory of the four humors, melancholy was linked to an excess of which humor?

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melancholy

American  

[mel-uhn-kol-ee] / ˈmɛl ənˌkɒl i /

noun

melancholies plural

1. a gloomy state of mind, especially when habitual or prolonged; depression.

   Synonyms:

   despondency, dejection, sadness

   Antonyms:

   happiness, cheer

2. sober thoughtfulness; pensiveness.

   Synonyms:

   seriousness

3. Archaic.

   1. the condition of having too much black bile, considered in ancient and medieval medicine to cause gloominess and depression.

   2. black bile.

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adjective

1. affected with, characterized by, or showing melancholy; mournful; depressed.

   a melancholy mood.

   Synonyms:

   downcast, glum, doleful, dismal, sorrowful, dispirited, blue, despondent, gloomy

2. causing melancholy or sadness; saddening.

   a melancholy occasion.

   Antonyms:

   happy

3. soberly thoughtful; pensive.

   Synonyms:

   serious

melancholy British  

/ ˈmɛlənˌkɒlɪlɪ, ˈmɛlənkəlɪ /

noun

1. a constitutional tendency to gloominess or depression

2. a sad thoughtful state of mind; pensiveness

3. archaic

   1. a gloomy character, thought to be caused by too much black bile

   2. one of the four bodily humours; black bile See humour

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adjective

1. characterized by, causing, or expressing sadness, dejection, etc

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• melancholiness
  noun
• unmelancholy
  adjective
• melancholily
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• melancholies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of melancholy

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English melancholie, from Late Latin melancholia, from Greek melancholía ”condition of having black bile,” equivalent to melan- “black” + chol(ḗ) “bile, gall” + -ia noun suffix; see origin at melan(o)-, chol-, -ia

Explanation

Melancholy is beyond sad: as a noun or an adjective, it's a word for the gloomiest of spirits. Being melancholy means that you're overcome in sorrow, wrapped up in sorrowful thoughts. The word started off as a noun for deep sadness, from a rather disgusting source. Back in medieval times, people thought that secretions of the body called "humors" determined their feelings, so a depressed person was thought to have too much of the humor known as melancholy — literally "black bile" secreted from the spleen. Fortunately, we no longer think we're ruled by our spleens, and that black bile has been replaced by another color of sorrow: the "blues."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

melancholy melancholies

Then the house DJ blasted two melancholy mariachi classics that had become the unofficial theme songs of Mexico’s World Cup run: “Cielito Lindo” and “El Rey.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 6, 2026

It glides by smoothly, and Ms. Mann’s lilting, melancholy songs are hypnotically lovely, but the characters’ anguish and psychological distress are only faintly sketched in.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026

"Is friendship all just for show?" they sing over a melancholy guitar line.

From BBC ● Jun. 4, 2026

He says he understands their melancholy, as he finds Christmas depressing and annually looks forward to its end.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 11, 2026

The stillness of the tent becomes a quiet melancholy.

From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern

The pains, regrets and melancholies of the adult characters mingle with the fresher but no less complex experiences of the teenagers getting a taste of love, death and fellowship for the first time.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 20, 2023

Says Faber Birren, 82, the dean of American color researchers: "Color distracts you from yourself and relieves you of inner anxieties, melancholies and fears."

From Time Magazine Archive

—This her poor book is full of saddest follies, Of tearful smiles and laughing melancholies, With summer roses twined and wintry hollies.

From The Professor at the Breakfast-Table by Holmes, Oliver Wendell

And 'Syngenesia,' the last of the melancholies; with the 'Knight of the Snorting Palfrey; or, the Silken Fetlock.'

From Forgotten Tales of Long Ago by Bedford, F. D.

But Ivan was, at this time, little given to melancholies; and a laughing question from Vladimir in the next room, brought him back to realities and his man's work.

From The Genius by Potter, Margaret Horton

Related Words

• boredom
• despair
• desperation
• despondency
• ennui
• gloom
• grief
• sorrow
• wistfulness