Meaning and usage of the word melancholy in English

The word "melancholy" has its roots in the medieval Latin language, where it was spelled "melancolia." This term was derived from the Greek words "melas" (meaning black) and "chronos" (meaning time, or "black time"). The Greek philosophers, including Hippocrates and Galen, associated this "black time" with a type of depression that was thought to be caused by an excess of black bile, one of the four bodily humors. In medieval Latin, "melancolia" came to mean a mental state of sadness, fear, or despair. It was often associated with literary genius, as many prominent writers, such as John Milton and William Shakespeare, struggled with melancholy. In fact, the term "melancholic" was used as a noun to describe such individuals, as evidenced in Shakespeare's play "Hamlet": "Every student must get stories of great inventors; as Galen or Hippocrates or Apelles or some other. For thou must read, who oft' than read'st must sleep: for thy reading cannot permit sleep: then from her narrow bed sha'ts rise, and snuff the sacred lamps of study, and 'gainst the dead still teach thyself new lore. Even such despight as from my hearts hereafter. How many times and times hath my brother said, 'Tis but our mood: when shall bellows so foul rear in her lady's presence?" Over time, the term "melancholy" came to be associated more generally with feelings of sadness, rather than specifically resulting from an imbalance of humors. Today, it is widely used both as a descriptive term for a specific mood and as a clinical diagnosis for depression, with a variety of etymologies and nuances in various languages and regions.