Key points

"Depressive" is popularly thought of as simply synonymous with depressive disorders.

The original meaning of "depressive" led to its use within psychology.

"Depressive" can mean episodes, a person's character, or interpersonal dynamic, none resembling the other.

The word depressive comes from depress, stemming from the Latin depressare, meaning to “press down.” For example, we can press down on, or depress, a lever. Whenever you press a key or drive and step on the gas pedal, you engage in a depressing motion. It doesn’t mean you were melancholic and sobbing as your foot moved downward on the pedal; it just means you pressed down on it.

Cleary, depress is not synonymous with a mood, so one would think that if you Google “definition of depressive” or “definition of

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