melancholia

[ mel-uhn-koh-lee-uh, -kohl-yuh ]

noun

1. a mental condition characterized by great depression of spirits and gloomy forebodings.
2. Psychiatry. endogenous depression.

melancholia

/ ˌmɛlənˈkəʊlɪə /

noun

1. See depression
   a former name for depression

Derived Forms

• ˌmelanˈcholiˌac, adjectivenoun

Word History and Origins

Origin of melancholia¹

From Late Latin, dating back to 1685–95; melancholy

Example Sentences

Written during an introspective period shortly following the end of a nine-year relationship with his then–fiancée, these songs evoke a sense of somber melancholia that feels truly genuine and could only be written by someone going through it.

From Time

Melancholia also produced a scandal at Cannes, but for another reason altogether.

From The Daily Beast

But she continues: “What is the relation between a sign and melancholia?”

From The Daily Beast

The distinction between melancholia and non-melancholia is a key part of your argument.

From The Daily Beast

He also has a taste for dark fugues, nocturnes, and symphonies of melancholia.

From The Daily Beast

No one who sees Melancholia can deny that that role has arrived for Dunst.

From The Daily Beast

In young people particularly, homesickness is a not uncommon cause of melancholia.

From Project Gutenberg

In melancholia, as a rule, sleep is very much disturbed, and at times patients do not sleep at all.

From Project Gutenberg

Nearly three-fourths of the patients who suffer from melancholia will recover from a first attack under proper care.

From Project Gutenberg

In the agitated form of melancholia, the patient is often quiet only when under the influence of a sleeping-potion.

From Project Gutenberg

Then it became gradually limited to those forms of insanity which differed from melancholia.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• depression
• seasonal depression