melancholy (English)
Where does "melancholy" come from?
The English noun 'melancholy' descends through Middle English 'malencolie' and Old French 'melancolie' from Ancient Greek 'μελαγχολία' meaning 'atrabiliousness'[1]. This Greek root combines 'μέλας' meaning 'black, dark, murky' with 'χολή' meaning 'bile'[1]. These roots trace back through Proto-Hellenic forms to Proto-Indo-European terms meaning 'dark, black' and 'green, yellow'[5][7]. In earlier medical theory, the term denoted black bile, which was considered one of the four cardinal humours of the body before developing its modern sense of thoughtful sadness.
Open questions
- The adjectival use of the word in Middle English may have been influenced by the suffixes y and ly. [1]
- Many Middle English forms of the word show potential influence from Old French mal meaning bad. [3]
Full etymology tree
- melancholy (English), 'Black bile, formerly thought to be one of the four "cardinal humours" of animal bodies.'
- inherited malencolie (Middle English), 'Black bile as one of the four cardinal humours believed to influence health and mood.'
- inherited melancolie (Old French), 'melancholy (sadness or depression)'
- borrowed μελαγχολία (melankholía) (Ancient Greek), 'melancholy, atrabiliousness'
- compound μέλας (mélas) (Ancient Greek), 'dark in color; sometimes so dark as to lack color, black'
- inherited *mélās (Proto-Hellenic), 'black'
- derived *melh₂- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to grind, to crush'
- inherited *mélās (Proto-Hellenic), 'black'
- compound χολή (kholḗ) (Ancient Greek), 'gall, bile'
- inherited *kʰolā́ (Proto-Hellenic), 'gall, bile'
- derived *ǵʰolh₃-éh₂ (Proto-Indo-European)
- derived *ǵʰelh₃- (Proto-Indo-European), 'green, yellow'
- derived *ǵʰolh₃-éh₂ (Proto-Indo-European)
- inherited *kʰolā́ (Proto-Hellenic), 'gall, bile'
- compound μέλας (mélas) (Ancient Greek), 'dark in color; sometimes so dark as to lack color, black'
- borrowed μελαγχολία (melankholía) (Ancient Greek), 'melancholy, atrabiliousness'
- inherited melancolie (Old French), 'melancholy (sadness or depression)'
- inherited malencolie (Middle English), 'Black bile as one of the four cardinal humours believed to influence health and mood.'
Ancestors
- malencolie (Middle English)
- melancolie (Old French)
Cognates and doublets
- melancholia (English)
- atra bilis (Latin)
Descendants and derived words
- melancholily (English)
- melancholiness (English)
- melancholist (English)
- melancholize (English)
- melancholy thistle (English)
- solemncholy (English)
- unmelancholy (English)
Sources
- melancholy (English) - Wiktionary
- melancolie (Old French) - Wiktionary
- malencolie (Middle English) - Wiktionary
- μελαγχολία (melankholía) (Ancient Greek) - Wiktionary
- μέλας (mélas) (Ancient Greek) - Wiktionary
- χόλος (Ancient Greek) - Wiktionary
- χολή (kholḗ) (Ancient Greek) - Wiktionary
Updated August 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris