Got the morbs facts for kids
"Got the morbs" was a fun slang phrase used a long time ago, during the Victorian era (from about 1837 to 1901). People used it to describe someone who was feeling a bit sad or down for a short time. It was like saying someone had a temporary case of the blues. This interesting phrase was written down in a book called Passing English of the Victorian Era in 1909 by James Redding Ware.
What Does "Got the Morbs" Mean?
The word morbs comes from the word morbid. Morbid means something unhealthy or gloomy. It originally came from the Latin word morbidus, which meant 'sick' or 'diseased'. It also has roots in another Latin word, morbus, which meant 'sorrow' or 'sadness of the mind'.
The book Passing English of the Victorian Era (1909) by James Redding Ware said that the phrase "got the morbs" started around 1880. It explained that it meant "Temporary melancholia," which is just a fancy way of saying a short period of sadness. A British expert on words, Susie Dent, once said that "having the morbs" meant "to sit under a cloud of despondency." This means feeling very gloomy and unhappy.
"Morbs" in Modern Times
Even though "got the morbs" is an old phrase, the word morbs has appeared in popular culture more recently.
- In 2015, an indie rock band from Boston called the Sheila Divine released an album titled The Morbs.
- There was also an all-girl band in Lincoln, Nebraska, that decided to name themselves "the Morbs" after this old phrase.
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