Gloomy means sad or dissatisfied. A person who is upset or thoughtful about something. Such associations arise at the first mention of it. In this article we will consider the etymology of the word, its lexical meaning. At the end, we will select synonyms and give some examples of its use.
Etymology of the word "gloomy"
The origin of this term is connected with the concept of "gloomy". It is a dark ash grey. In the old days, it referred to fabrics that were made at home and not dyed. The unbleached color of wool or linen was just called dark.
Hence the words like "gloomy, overcast" in reference to the sky and weather. Then, in the spoken language, a figurative meaning appeared - a dull mood.
It's hard to say from which language this word came from. Perhaps from Lithuanian in the meaning of gray. There is an opinion that it comes from the Greek term amanros, which translates as "dark, blind".
The lexical meaning of the word "gloomy"
Study termused mainly in the following meanings:
- Dark gray, ashy color of any objects. Most often used in the description of nature. For example, the sky.
- Bad mood. A person can be like this because of sadness, resentment, discontent or some kind of grief.
- In the meaning of a person's disposition or character.
"Gloomy" is a slang word that has almost ceased to be used in describing nature. More often we use akin to him - "cloudy" or "gloomy". But in relation to a person and his mood, this is a fairly common occurrence.
Synonyms and examples of usage
The studied word has a number of friendly words similar in meaning to it. Here are some of them:
- sad;
- sad;
- mourner;
- gloomy;
- unsociable;
- unpleasant;
- closed;
- weird;
- gloomy;
- cloudy;
- rainy.
Next, here are a few phrases - examples of the use of this word in the context:
- The people in this village seemed somehow gloomy to me.
- He had a gloomy disposition, better not to be seen.
- The weather was truly autumn - a gloomy sky and endless rain.
- Today my husband came home gloomy.
- The mood of the neighbor was different: sometimes cheerful and contented, sometimes gloomy.
Thus, we found out that the word "gloomy" came from a foreign term,denoting color in the first place. Later, over time, the meaning changed somewhat and was transferred to the mood of a person and his disposition. The synonyms presented above showed what the given word contains. And examples of use in context made it possible to see how the unit under study works in speech.
