melancholy的词源

英文词源

melancholy

melancholy: [14] Etymologically, melancholy means ‘black gall’. The word comes via Old French melancolie and late Latin melancholia from Greek melagkholíā, a compound formed from mélās ‘black’ (source also of English melanin [19] and melanoma [19]) and kholé ‘bile’ (a relative of English gall). This ‘black bile’ was one of the four bodily substances or ‘humours’ whose relative preponderance, according to medieval medical theory, determined a person’s physical and mental state. Excess of black bile was thought to cause depression – hence the modern meaning of melancholy.
=> gall, melanoma

melancholy (n.)

c. 1300, "condition characterized by sullenness, gloom, irritability," from Old French melancolie "black bile, ill disposition, anger, annoyance" (13c.), from Late Latin melancholia, from Greek melankholia "sadness," literally (excess of) "black bile," from melas (genitive melanos) "black" (see melanin) + khole "bile" (see Chloe). Medieval physiology attributed depression to excess of "black bile," a secretion of the spleen and one of the body's four "humors."

The Latin word also is the source of Spanish melancolia, Italian melancolia, German Melancholie, Danish melankoli, etc. Old French variant malencolie (also in Middle English) is by false association with mal "sickness."

melancholy (adj.)

late 14c., "with or caused by black bile; sullen, gloomy, sad," from melancholy (n.); sense of "deplorable" (of a fact or state of things) is from 1710.

中文词源

melancholy（忧郁）：令人性情忧郁的黑胆汁

根据古希腊名医希波克拉底的体液理论，一个人如果体内黑胆汁太多，就会变得“性情忧郁”。在希腊语中，“黑胆汁”被称为melankholia，由 melanos（黑）和khole（胆汁，choler）组合而成。该词进入英语后拼写演变为melancholy，含义转变为 “忧郁、悲哀”。

melancholy：['melənkəlɪ] n.忧郁；悲哀；愁思adj. 忧郁的；使人悲伤的

该词的英语词源请访问趣词词源英文版：melancholy 词源，melancholy 含义。

melancholy：忧郁，悲伤

来自拉丁语melancholia,来自希腊语malankholia,黑胆汁过度分泌， 忧郁，悲伤，来自melas,黑的，词源同melanin,khole,胆汁，词源同gall.在古代观念中，人的忧郁，悲伤等是由于黑胆汁的过度分泌引起的。参照humor,体液，体液学说。