Where does “melancholist” come from?
melancholist (English) comes from English melancholy, from Middle English malencolie, from Old French melancolie, from Late Latin melancholia, from Ancient Greek μελαγχολία, from Ancient Greek μελάγχολος, from Ancient Greek χόλος, from Ancient Greek χολή — to flourish; green, yellow.
melancholist (English): One affected with melancholy or dejection
Definitions
- One affected with melancholy or dejection
Ancestry of “melancholist”, step by step
melancholist traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English melancholy
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | melancholy | Black bile, formerly thought to be one of the... |
| 2 | Middle English | malencolie | Black bile as one of the four cardinal humours... |
| 3 | Old French | melancolie | melancholy; melancholy; black bile |
| 4 | Late Latin | melancholia | — |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | μελαγχολία | melancholy, atrabiliousness |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | μελάγχολος | dipped in black bile |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | χόλος | gall, bile |
| 8 | Ancient Greek | χολή | gall, bile; gall bladder; bitterness, wrath,... |
| 9 | Proto-Hellenic | kʰolā́ | gall, bile |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵʰolh₃-éh₂ | — |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵʰelh₃- | to flourish; green, yellow |
via English ist
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | ist | A practitioner or supporter of an ism |
| 2 | English | -ist | Added to words to form nouns denoting |
| 3 | Old French | -iste | — |
| 4 | Latin | -ista | -ist; one who practises or believes |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | -ιστής | Alternative form of -τής; -ist |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | -τής | Appended to verbs to form agent nouns |
| 7 | Proto-Hellenic | -tās | — |