Saddies

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Informal term referring to brief feelings of sadness or mild depression; also describing a type of fish known for living in freshwater; occasionally used as a slang nickname for individuals who appear melancholic
2. Colloquial expression for short-lived bouts of unhappiness or sorrow; the name of a small freshwater fish species; sometimes used informally to portray people exhibiting a somber mood
3. A casual way to denote transient sorrowful moods; the common name for certain small freshwater fish; used occasionally as a friendly label for someone seeming downcast

Etymology: "Saddies" is the plural of "saddie," which is itself built on the adjective "sad" with the diminutive-style ending "-ie," a pattern common in informal English for turning adjectives into affectionate nicknames, as in "goodie" or "baddie." The plural ending "-s" then makes it countable, so that the word can name several downcast moods at once or several people who look gloomy. The fish sense is a separate matter of naming. The common name for certain small freshwater fish is "saddie," and the same spelling reached those fish through the same informal route, a playful label applied to something that looks wistful or drooping. The overlap with mood is probably coincidence of shape rather than a shared history, so the two meanings are best understood as two uses of one informal coinage rather than a single chain of change.