A temporary state of mind or feeling; an atmosphere or emotional tone.
From Old English 'mōd' meaning mind, heart, spirit, courage. Related to Gothic 'mōths' meaning anger. The sense narrowed from general mental state to temporary emotional condition.
Unlike emotions which are reactions to specific events, moods are mysterious background states that color everything we experience, like emotional weather systems that can shift without obvious cause. Scientists still debate whether moods serve an evolutionary purpose or are simply byproducts of our complex neural architecture.
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