mélancolie

See also: melancolie

French

Alternative forms

• melancolie (obsolete)
• melancholie (obsolete)
• mélancholie (obsolete)

Etymology

From Old French melancolie, from Ancient Greek μελαγχολία (melankholía).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /me.lɑ̃.kɔ.li/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

mélancolie f (plural mélancolies)

1. (historical) melancholy, black bile (one of the four humours of ancient and mediaeval physiology, that was believed to be secreted by the kidneys and spleen and to cause melancholy and sadness when present in excess)

   Synonyms: bile noire, atrabile

2. melancholy (sadness or depression)

   Near-synonyms: cafard, blues, tristesse

Related terms

• mélancolique

Descendants

• → Turkish: melankoli

Further reading

• “mélancolie”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.