different between cynic vs melancholy

English

Alternative forms

• cynick (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English cynike, cynicke, from Middle French cinicque, from Latin cynicus, from Ancient Greek ??????? (kunikós), originally derived from the portico in Athens called ?????????? (Kunósarges), the earliest home of the Cynic school, later reinterpreted as a derivation of ???? (kú?n, “dog”), in a contemptuous allusion to the uncouth and aggressive manners adopted by the members of the school.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?s?n?k/
• Rhymes: -?n?k
• Homophone: Sinic

Adjective

cynic (comparative more cynic, superlative most cynic)

1. cynical (in all senses)
2. (not comparable) Relating to the Dog Star.

Noun

cynic (plural cynics)

1. A person who believes that all people are motivated by selfishness.
2. A person whose outlook is scornfully negative.

Related terms

• cynical
• cynicism

Translations

Anagrams

• Cincy

Middle French

Alternative forms

• cynicque (masculine and feminine)

Adjective

cynic m (feminine singular cynicque, masculine plural cynics, feminine plural cynicques)

1. cynical

English

Alternative forms

• melancholly, melancholie, melancholious (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English malencolie, from Old French melancolie, from Ancient Greek ?????????? (melankholía, “atrabiliousness”), from ????? (mélas), ?????- (melan-, “black, dark, murky”) + ???? (khol?, “bile”). Compare the Latin ?tra b?lis (“black bile”). The adjectival use is a Middle English innovation, perhaps influenced by the suffixes -y, -ly.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?mel?nk?li/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?m?l.?n?k?l.i/

Noun

melancholy (countable and uncountable, plural melancholies)

1. (historical) Black bile, formerly thought to be one of the four "cardinal humours" of animal bodies.
   • , Bk.I, New York 2001, p.148:

     Melancholy, cold and dry, thick, black, and sour, […] is a bridle to the other two hot humours, blood and choler, preserving them in the blood, and nourishing the bones.

2. Great sadness or depression, especially of a thoughtful or introspective nature.
   • 1593, William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part 2, V. i. 34:

     My mind was troubled with deep melancholy.

   • 1599, William Shakespeare, As You Like It, Act IV, Scene 1,^[1]

     I have neither the scholar’s melancholy, which is emulation; nor the musician’s, which is fantastical; nor the courtier’s, which is proud; nor the soldier’s, which is ambitious; nor the lawyer’s, which is politic; nor the lady’s, which is nice; nor the lover’s, which is all these; but it is a melancholy of mine own, compounded of many simples, extracted from many objects, and, indeed, the sundry contemplation of my travels; in which my often rumination wraps me in a most humorous sadness.

Translations

Adjective

melancholy (comparative more melancholy, superlative most melancholy)

1. (literary) Affected with great sadness or depression.

Synonyms

• (thoughtful sadness): melancholic
• See also Thesaurus:sad

Translations

Related terms

• melancholic
• sadness
• melancholia