n.
- deep and long-lasting sadness.
▸another term for melancholia (as a mental condition).
- historical another term for black bile.
adj.
feeling, causing, or expressing sadness.
Derivative
- melancholic adj.
- melancholically adv.
Etymology
ME: from OFr. melancolie, via late L. from Gk melankholia, from melas, melan- ‘black’ + kholē ‘bile’, an excess of which was believed to cause depression.