People whose behavior shows obvious deviations from the norm were formerly called malachol. The definition of this word can be found in any explanatory dictionary. It is not so easy to understand the etymology of this concept. The definition of the word "malacholny", synonyms, as well as a version of its origin are presented in the article.
In explanatory dictionaries
So who is malacholny? The meaning given in one of the explanatory dictionaries: "Having quirks, oddities in behavior." However, this adjective has semantic nuances that few know about. Crazy, insane, hysterical - all these, as many believe, are synonyms for the word "malacholny". The meaning of the latter concept is nevertheless narrower. Malacholny - not one who suffers from a mental disorder. This is a person in whose behavior there is inhibition, slowness. Overly emotional people prone to hysteria were not called malacholous. The meaning given in the dictionary of Ephraim puts forward one of the versions about the origin of the word. More on this later in the article.
Melancholic
As you know, there are four types of temperament. We will not recall all, we list the features characteristic of melancholy. Thoughtfulness, a tendency to deep emotional experiences, nervous instability, slowness - all these are features of representatives of this type of temperament. Perhaps the word "melancholic" came into colloquial speech and was distorted, as a result of which the concept of "malacholny" arose. The meaning of this adjective given in the dictionaries and the description of the melancholic type of temperament are largely the same.
In fiction, the word "malacholny" is quite common. As a rule, it is said by commoner characters. "Malacholny" refers to colloquial vocabulary and has a rude shade.
But the writer does not always use this epithet in order to emphasize the character characteristics of the hero. In one of the works of art there is such a phrase as “malacholny house”, that is, a psychiatric hospital.