atrabilious

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The Word of the Day for May 10 is: 

atrabilious   \at-ruh-BIL-yus\   adjective
     1 : given to or marked by melancholy : gloomy
    *2 : ill-natured, peevish

Example sentence: 
     Conscious of his landlord?s atrabilious temperament, Daniel knew to wait 
until the moment was right before asking for an extension on the rent.

Did you know?
     "Atrabilious" is a somewhat rare word with a history that parallels that 
of the more common "melancholy." Representing one of the four bodily humors, 
from which it was once believed that human emotions originated, "atrabilious" 
derives from the Latin "atra bilis," literally meaning "black bile." The word 
"melancholy" derives from the Greek "melan-" and "chole," which also translates 
as "black bile." In its original sense, "atrabilious" meant "melancholy," but 
now it is more frequently used to describe someone with an irritable or 
unfriendly temperament. A word with a meaning similar to that of "atrabilious" 
is "splenetic," which is named after the organ in the body (the spleen) once 
thought to secrete black bile.  

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. 





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