Meanings
comparative more melancholious · superlative most melancholious
- obsoletemelancholy
however flat and melancholious it [marriage] be
1643, J[ohn] M[ilton], The Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce: […], London: […] T[homas] P[aine] and M[atthew] S[immons] […], →OCLC1 more example
O, a’ ye Bards on bonie Doon! / An’ vvha on Ayr your chanters tune! / Come, join the melancholious croon / O’ Robin’s reed! / His heart vvill never get aboon! / His Mailie’s dead!
1793, Robert Burns, “Poor Mailie’s Elegy”, in Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect. […], 2nd edition, volume I, Edinburgh: […] T[homas] Cadell, […], and William Creech, […], published 1793, →OCLC, page 115
Origin
- Middle Frenchmelancolieus
- Middle Englishmalencolious
- Englishmelancholious
From Middle English malencolious, from Middle French melancolieus.
More words from Middle English, Middle French
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
melancholious. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/melancholious
“melancholious.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/melancholious. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “melancholious,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/melancholious.
Source: melancholious on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.