sullen
EnglishEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Middle English solein, from Anglo-Norman soleyn (“alone”), from Old French sole (“single, sole, alone”), from Latin sōlus (“by oneself alone”). The change in meaning from "single" to morose occurred in Middle English.
PronunciationEdit
AdjectiveEdit
sullen (comparative sullener, superlative sullenest)
- Having a brooding ill temper; sulky.
- 1709, Matthew Prior, Pleasure
- And sullen I forsook the imperfect feast.
- 2007, Steven Wilson, "Normal", Porcupine Tree, Nil Recurring.
- Sullen and bored the kids stay / And in this way wish away each day
- 1709, Matthew Prior, Pleasure
- Gloomy; dismal; foreboding.
- a sullen atmosphere
- 1593, William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, IV. v. 88:
- Our solemn hymns to sullen dirges change;
- 1671, John Milton, “The First Book”, in Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: […] J. M[acock] for John Starkey […], OCLC 228732398, lines 497–502, page 27:
- He added not; and Satan bowing low / His gray diſſimulation, diſappear'd / Into thin Air diffuſ'd: for now began / Night with her ſullen wing to double-ſhade / The Deſert; Fowls in thir clay neſts were couch't; / And now wild Beaſts came forth the woods to roam.
- Sluggish; slow.
- 1814 July 7, [Walter Scott], Waverley; […], volume (please specify |volume=I, II, or III), Edinburgh: […] James Ballantyne and Co. for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, OCLC 270129598:
- The larger [stream] was placid, and even sullen, in its course.
- (obsolete) Lonely; solitary; desolate.
- (obsolete) Mischievous; malignant; unpropitious.
- 1675, John Dryden, Aureng-zebe: A Tragedy. […], London: […] T[homas] N[ewcomb] for Henry Herringman, […], published 1676, OCLC 228724395, (please specify the page number):
- Such sullen planets at my birth did shine.
- (obsolete) Obstinate; intractable.
- a. 1694, John Tillotson, Imprudence of Atheism
- Things are as sullen as we are.
- a. 1694, John Tillotson, Imprudence of Atheism
SynonymsEdit
(in a bad mood):
AntonymsEdit
TranslationsEdit
having a brooding ill temper
|
sulky — see sulky
dismal
|
sluggish
NounEdit
sullen (plural sullens)
- (obsolete) One who is solitary, or lives alone; a hermit.
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Piers Plowman to this entry?)
- (chiefly in the plural) Sullen feelings or manners; sulks; moroseness.
- 1593, William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of King Richard the Second, II. i. 139:
- And let them die that age and sullens have;
- 1748, Samuel Richardson, Clarissa, I.7:
- [M]y brother […] charged my desire of being excused coming down to sullens, because a certain person had been spoken against, upon whom, as he supposed, my fancy ran.
- 1593, William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of King Richard the Second, II. i. 139:
AnagramsEdit
Middle DutchEdit
EtymologyEdit
VerbEdit
sullen
- (auxiliary) must, to have to
- (auxiliary, negated) may, be allowed to
- (auxiliary) will, shall, be going to (future tense)
- 1249, Schepenbrief van Bochoute, Velzeke, eastern Flanders:
- Descepenen van bochouta quedden alle degene die dese lettren sien selen i(n) onsen here.
- The aldermen of Bochoute address all who will see this letter by our lord.
- (auxiliary, in the past tense) to be about to (inchoative)
- (modal auxiliary) indicates a possible or hypothetical situation
- (modal auxiliary) indicates information garnered from a third party that may or may not be reliable
InflectionEdit
This verb needs an inflection-table template.
Alternative formsEdit
DescendantsEdit
Further readingEdit
- “sullen”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
- Verwijs, E.; Verdam, J. (1885–1929), “sullen”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, →ISBN
Northern SamiEdit
PronunciationEdit
VerbEdit
sūllen