blues (root: blue)

• POS: Noun Plural

CIDE DICTIONARY

blues, n. 

•  a type of folk song that originated among Black Americans at the beginning of the 20th century; has a melancholoy sound from repeated used of blue notes.  [WordNet 1.5]
•  a state of depression; as, he had a bad case of the blues.  [WordNet 1.5]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

blues, n.pl.
1 (prec. by the) a bout of depression (had a fit of the blues).
2 a (prec. by the; often treated as sing.) melancholic music of Black American folk origin, often in a twelve-bar sequence (always singing the blues). b (pl. same) (as sing.) a piece of such music (the band played a blues).

Derivative

bluesy adj. (in sense 2).

THESAURUS

blues

Brautlied, Christmas carol, Kunstlied, Liebeslied, Volkslied, alba, anthem, art song, aubade, ballad, ballade, balladry, ballata, barcarole, blahs, blue devils, bluegrass, blues song, boat song, border ballads, bridal hymn, brindisi, calypso, canso, canticle, canzone, canzonet, canzonetta, carol, cavatina, chanson, chant, chantey, city blues, country blues, country music, country-and-western music, croon, croon song, dejection, depression, dirge, dismals, ditty, dods, doldrums, dolefuls, dorts, drinking song, dumps, epithalamium, ethnic music, field holler, folk song, folk songs, frumps, gloom, grumps, heavyheartedness, hymeneal, lay, lied, lilt, love song, love-lilt, matin, megrims, melancholia, melancholy, minstrel song, minstrelsy, mopes, mulligrubs, mumps, national anthem, old-time country music, pouts, prothalamium, serena, serenade, serenata, song, sulks, sullens, the blues, theme song, torch song, unhappiness, war song, wedding song, western swing

ROGET THESAURUS

blues

Dejection

N dejection, dejectedness, depression, prosternation, lowness of spirits, depression of spirits, weight on the spirits, oppression on the spirits, damp on the spirits, low spirits, bad spirits, drooping spirits, depressed spirits, heart sinking, heaviness of heart, failure of heart, heaviness, infestivity, gloom, weariness, taedium vitae, disgust of life, mal du pays, anhedonia, melancholy, sadness, il penseroso, melancholia, dismals, blues, lachrymals, mumps, dumps, blue devils, doldrums, vapors, megrims, spleen, horrors, hypochondriasis, pessimism, la maladie sans maladie, despondency, slough of Despond, disconsolateness, hope deferred, blank despondency, voiceless woe, prostration of soul, broken heart, despair, cave of despair, cave of Trophonius demureness, gravity, solemnity, long face, grave face, hypochondriac, seek sorrow, self-tormentor, heautontimorumenos, malade imaginaire, medecin tant pis, croaker, pessimist, mope, mopus, affliction, sorry sight, memento mori, damper, wet blanket, Job's comforter, cheerless, joyless, spiritless, uncheerful, uncheery, unlively, unhappy, melancholy, dismal, somber, dark, gloomy, triste, clouded, murky, lowering, frowning, lugubrious, funereal, mournful, lamentable, dreadful, dreary, flat, dull, dull as a beetle, dull as ditchwater, depressing, melancholy as a gib cat, oppressed with melancholy, a prey to melancholy, downcast, downhearted, down in the mouth, down in one's luck, heavy-hearted, in the dumps, down in the dumps, in the suds, in the sulks, in the doldrums, in doleful dumps, in bad humor, sullen, mumpish, dumpish, mopish, moping, moody, glum, sulky, out of sorts, out of humor, out of heart, out of spirits, ill at ease, low spirited, in low spirits, a cup too low, weary, discouraged, disheartened, desponding, chapfallen, chopfallen, jaw fallen, crest fallen, sad, pensive, penseroso, tristful, dolesome, doleful, woebegone, lacrymose, lachrymose, in tears, melancholic, hypped, hypochondriacal, bilious, jaundiced, atrabilious, saturnine, splenetic, lackadaisical, serious, sedate, staid, stayed, grave as a judge, grave as an undertaker, grave as a mustard pot, sober, sober as a judge, solemn, demure, grim, grim-faced, grim-visaged, rueful, wan, long-faced, disconsolate, unconsolable, inconsolable, forlorn, comfortless, desolate, desole, sick at heart, soul sick, heart sick, au desespoir, in despair, lost, overcome, broken down, borne down, bowed down, heartstricken, cut up, dashed, sunk, unnerved, unmanned, down fallen, downtrodden, broken-hearted, careworn, with a long face, with tears in one's eyes, sadly, the countenance falling, the heart failing, the heart sinking within one, a plague of sighing and grief, thick-ey'd musing and curs'd melancholy, the sickening pang of hope deferred.