melancholy

将“melancholy”分解为“melan”和“choly”，其中“melan”与黑色有关，而“choly”与液体有关，可以联想到黑液（如泪水），形成一种悲伤、忧郁的意象，从而帮助记忆该词表示忧郁、悲伤的情绪。

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。

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.

1. He fixed me with those luminous, empty eyes and his melancholy smile.

他笑容忧郁地凝视着我，闪亮的眼睛里空无一物。

2. The general watched the process with an air of melancholy.

将军神情忧郁地望着队列经过。

3. Melancholy and mistrust of men hold her back.

忧郁的性格和对男人的不信任使她裹足不前。

4. A mood of melancholy descended on us.

一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。

5. All at once he fell into a state of profound melancholy.

他立即陷入无尽的忧思之中.

【melancholy, unhappy, blue, sad, sorrowful, gloomy】
这组词都有“忧伤的，悲哀的，伤感的”的意思，其区别是：
melancholy: 指经常性的忧郁或悲哀，多用于文学描写中。
unhappy: 多指日常生活中遇到不如意的事而感到不愉快、不幸，侧重指心理状态。
blue: 非正式用词，语气较随便，指较强烈的忧郁或沮丧。
sad: 最常用词，泛指一切形式的悲伤，着重暂时的不幸或感觉的忧伤。
sorrowful: 多指因丧失亲人等原因所引起的悲哀，也指由于错误而产生的悔恨交加的心情。
gloomy: 指愁眉苦脸，令他人也感到扫兴。