‖ melancholia Nosology.
(mɛlənˈkəʊlɪə)
Pl. -iæ.
[late Latin: see melancholy.]
‘A functional mental disease, characterised by gloomy thoughtfulness, ill-grounded fears, and general depression of mind’ (Syd. Soc. Lex. 1890); a species or a case of this disease.
| 1693 tr. Blancard's Phys. Dict. (ed. 2). 1814 Syd. Smith Wks. (1859) I. 232/2 The number of recoveries, in cases of melancholia, has been very unusual. 1886 Hall & Jastrow in Mind Jan. 60 In certain melancholiæ and other mental disorders. 1899 Allbutt's Syst. Med. VIII. 373 Grayness [of the hair] often increases rapidly in melancholia. |