Meaning & use
black bile
One of the four bodily humors in ancient and medieval medicine, believed to cause melancholy and sadness when in excess.
See it in a sentence
Ancient physicians blamed an excess of black bile for the patient's persistent sadness.
Medieval medical texts linked black bile to the melancholic temperament.
A note on using this word
Black bile has no basis in modern medicine, but the word 'melancholy' itself derives from the Greek words for 'black bile'.
Words with a similar meaning
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