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User:Bruxton/Got the morbs

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Dictionary definition for "Got the Morbs" (1909)

Got the morbs (1880) is a Victorian era slang or euphemism. The phrase describes a person afflicted with temporary melancholy or sadness. The term was defined in James Redding Ware's 1909 book Passing English of the Victorian Era.

Etymology[edit]

Got the morbs originally came from Latin.[1] Morbs is an abstract noun which is derived from the adjective morbid.[2][1] The word morbid came from the original Latin word morbidus which meant, sickly, diseased or unwholesome.[3] The word also has roots in the latin word morbus, which meant sorrow, grief, and distress of the mind.[4]

History[edit]

The term appeared in the book Passing English of the Victorian Era (1909) by James Redding Ware. The book states that the term was from 1880, and was it was defined as an abstract noun which was coined from the adjective morbid.[1]

Got the morbs is a phrase describing a person who is in a state of temporary melancholy.[5] It is Victorian slang which was used to describe sad people.[6] Having the morbs was to be despondent and uninterested in communication or small talk.[7]

Popular culture[edit]

In 2015 the Boston, Massachusetts based Indie rock band The Sheila Divine released a full-length album which they titled The Morbs.[8] In Lincoln, Nebraska an all-girl band has named themselves The Morbs.[9] In June 2019 Grant Shimmin, writing for The Timaru Herald, asked if English singer and TV personality Michael Ball has "got the morbs" about the state of Great Britain.[10]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Ware, J. Redding (1909). Passing English of the Victorian Era: a dictionary of heterodox English, slang and phrase. London: George Routledge & Sons Limited. p. 146.
  2. ^ "Got the Morbs!". Vanity Fair. 23 July 2020. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  3. ^ Smith, C. J. (October 19, 2022). Synonyms Discriminated. Frankfurt, Germany: Outlook Verlag. p. 459. ISBN 9783368127015. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
  4. ^ Bartlett, Gary Norton (1996). Translations and Translation Principles in the Old English and Old High German Versions of Boethius's "De Consolatione Philosophiae". Minneapolis, Wisconsin: University of Minnesota. p. 165. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
  5. ^ Peel, Billy (15 December 2019). "20 Victorian sayings that we want to bring back now". Real Homes. Real Homes. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
  6. ^ Rossen, Jake (24 September 2021). "7 Highly Intriguing Victorian Halloween Traditions". Mental Floss. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  7. ^ Dent, Susie (1 September 2022). "From jubbity to mubble fubbles, anxiety is well catered for in the historical dictionary". Associated Newspapers Limited. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  8. ^ Marotta, Michael (25 November 2015). "The Sheila Divine Are Back with New Album The Morbs". Metro Corp. Boston Magazine. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  9. ^ Harazin, Jennifer (14 March 2016). "Harazin: Local band The Morbs embrace tight-knit music scene". The Daily Nebraskan. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  10. ^ Shimmin, Grant (28 June 2019). "Would he still introduce this stirring anthem that way?". The Timaru Herald. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
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