What does black bile mean?
Definitions for black bile
black bile
This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word black bile.
Princeton's WordNet
black bile, melancholynoun
a humor that was once believed to be secreted by the kidneys or spleen and to cause sadness and melancholy
Wiktionary
black bilenoun
One of the four humours of ancient and mediaeval physiology, that was believed to be secreted by the kidneys and spleen and to cause melancholy and sadness when present in excess.
Wikipedia
black bile
Melancholia or melancholy (from Greek: µέλαινα χολή melaina chole, meaning black bile) is a concept found throughout ancient, medieval and premodern medicine in Europe that describes a condition characterized by markedly depressed mood, bodily complaints, and sometimes hallucinations and delusions. Melancholy was regarded as one of the four temperaments matching the four humours. Until the 18th century, doctors and other scholars classified melancholic conditions as such by their perceived common cause – an excess of a notional fluid known as "black bile", which was commonly linked to the spleen. Between the late 18th and late 19th centuries, melancholia was a common medical diagnosis, and modern concepts of depression as a mood disorder eventually arose from this historical context.Related terms used in historical medicine include lugubriousness (from Latin lugere: "to mourn"), moroseness (from Latin morosus: "self-will or fastidious habit"), wistfulness (from a blend of "wishful" and the obsolete English wistly, meaning "intently"), and saturnineness (from Latin Saturninus: "of the planet Saturn).
ChatGPT
black bile
Black bile is one of the four humours or bodily fluids that ancient and medieval medicine believed influenced health or temperament. It is believed to be associated with a melancholic temperament. The humoral theory was largely dismissed by the advent of modern medicine, and black bile doesn't have an equivalent in contemporary physiology.
Matched Categories
Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of black bile in Chaldean Numerology is: 4
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of black bile in Pythagorean Numerology is: 3
Translations for black bile
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
Get even more translations for black bile »
Translation
Find a translation for the black bile definition in other languages:
Select another language:
- - Select -
- 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
- 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
- Español (Spanish)
- Esperanto (Esperanto)
- 日本語 (Japanese)
- Português (Portuguese)
- Deutsch (German)
- العربية (Arabic)
- Français (French)
- Русский (Russian)
- ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
- 한국어 (Korean)
- עברית (Hebrew)
- Gaeilge (Irish)
- Українська (Ukrainian)
- اردو (Urdu)
- Magyar (Hungarian)
- मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
- Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Italiano (Italian)
- தமிழ் (Tamil)
- Türkçe (Turkish)
- తెలుగు (Telugu)
- ภาษาไทย (Thai)
- Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
- Čeština (Czech)
- Polski (Polish)
- Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Românește (Romanian)
- Nederlands (Dutch)
- Ελληνικά (Greek)
- Latinum (Latin)
- Svenska (Swedish)
- Dansk (Danish)
- Suomi (Finnish)
- فارسی (Persian)
- ייִדיש (Yiddish)
- հայերեն (Armenian)
- Norsk (Norwegian)
- English (English)
Word of the Day
Would you like us to send you a FREE new word definition delivered to your inbox daily?
Citation
Use the citation below to add this definition to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"black bile." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2025. Web. 18 Mar. 2025. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/black+bile>.
Discuss these black bile definitions with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In