Gloomster

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person who habitually displays sadness, pessimism, or a gloomy attitude
2. Someone known for their consistently negative or downhearted outlook on situations
3. An individual marked by a somber or melancholic demeanor, often expecting the worst

Etymology: "Gloomster" is a plain formation: the noun "gloom" with the suffix "-ster," which English uses to mark a person associated with a particular activity or trait. The suffix comes from Old English "-estre," a feminine agent marker, and it survives in older words such as "spinster" and "huckster." Over time it lost its gender sense and gained a faintly playful, sometimes mocking tone, as in "trickster" and "prankster." Gloom itself goes back to Middle English, where it meant darkness or dimness and only later took on the sense of low spirits. Attaching "-ster" to it produced a word for someone who seems to carry that darkness around, a person who is always expecting the worst. The result is a jocular coinage, the sort of label one might use for a friend who turns every good news story into a warning.