a feeling of thoughtful sadness
"After years away from home, he felt a deep melancholy while looking at his old photographs."
a constitutional tendency to be gloomy and depressed
"He always seemed melancholy, as if he carried an innate sadness that no amount of sunshine could dispel."
a humor that was once believed to be secreted by the kidneys or spleen and to cause sadness and melancholy
"The ancient physician claimed his patient's deep depression stemmed from an excess of the black bile humor, which he believed was produced by the spleen."
Black bile, formerly thought to be one of the four "cardinal humours" of animal bodies.
"The ancient physician prescribed a bitter herb to purge his patient's excess black bile, which he believed was causing their deep sadness."
characterized by or causing or expressing sadness
"growing more melancholy every hour"
"her melancholic smile"
"we acquainted him with the melancholy truth"
grave or even gloomy in character
"solemn and mournful music"
"a suit of somber black"
"a somber mood"
Affected with great sadness or depression.
"After hearing the news about his grandmother's passing, he sat alone in the corner of the room, looking deeply melancholy and unable to speak a word."
The word comes from Ancient Greek melankholía, which literally means "atrabiliousness" or black bile. It combines elements meaning "black" and "bile," reflecting an ancient medical theory that linked this dark fluid to a specific mood.