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[SAT-ahr-nien'] 
1. of or born under Saturn's influence
2. gloomy, depressed, or dull: "Your presence will offset the saturnine mood of that place."
3. bitter or scornful; "the face was saturnine and swarthy, and the sensual lips...twisted with disdain" (Oscar Wilde)
4. caused by the absorption of lead
adverb form: saturninely
Origin:
Approximately 1433; from Latin, 'Saturnus': Saturn. Medieval physiology believed these characteristics to be caused by the astrological influence of the planet Saturn, which was the most remote from the Sun (in the limited knowledge of the times) and thus coldest and slowest in its revolution. In action:
"When Blair smiles his face lights up. A Brown smile is awful to behold. The mouth seems engaged in a messy divorce from the eyes, which narrow into slits. The cheek muscles protest at being summoned from moody slumber to a task way beyond their calling. Brown's face harbours some epic quarrel with the world, or at least a violent disagreement with an oyster.
Yet Brown's face is essentially handsome. Early portraits show a mass of dark hair framing a saturnine brow and intelligent, watchful eyes. The picture that graces the cover of Tom Bower's biography has the hands covering the mouth, much to its advantage."
Simon Jenkins. "Comment: Getting to know you," [Shakespeare looked for 'the mind's construction in the face', and few have a stormier expression than the next PM.] The Guardian (June 23, 2007).
"The solo and choral singing and orchestral work were as strong as one might expect, despite the cancellation of one of the soloists, bass Ildar Abdrazakov, because of travel-related difficulties. His replacement, Morris D. Robinson, sounded dry early in the performance but soon was anchoring the vocal quartet with a stern, saturnine sound." John von Rhein. "Requiem a heavenly ending as CSO [Chicago Symphony Orchestra] season draws to close," Chicago Tribune (June 16, 2007).
"The irony is that Schoenfield is one of the most eclectic and catholic modern composers, who freely avails himself of klezmer, Tin Pan Alley, tango and jazz within traditional classical compositions of disarming sophistication. He is a master of counterpoint, and his music is idiomatic and pleasing to play, though some of the pieces had their longueurs. But many of them boogied. Against most traditional composers on the scene today, Schoenfield would be considered bouncy, even frivolous. But against the dazzling eclat of Time for Three, the pieces seemed almost saturnine, a contrast sharpened by the two groups' respective involvement and energy levels.
The staid performances by the 21st Century Consort were so totally upstaged by their young guests that one almost felt sorry for the group. In particular, Time for Three's Nicholas Kendall's torso-throwing, knee-bending athleticism on the violin brought his home-crowd audience to its feet. It would have been better for all concerned to have presented these groups in separate concerts."
"21st Century Consort And Time for Three," [Music/Performing Arts Review] Washington Post (June 28, 2007).
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