melancholia

Questions

What does melancholia mean?

Deep sadness or gloom; melancholy

Where does melancholia come from?

From Late Latin melancholia, which was in turn borrowed from the Ancient Greek medical term μελαγχολία (melankholía, “blackness of the bile”) (from μέλας (mélas), μελαν- (melan-, “black, dark, murky”) + χολή (kholḗ, “bile”)), referring to the humour which ancient Hippocratic and later Galenic medicine associated with sadness and despondency. Doublet of melancholy.

How to pronounce melancholia

1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “melancholia”.
2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “melancholia”.
4. Repeat and practice — Say “melancholia” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.