Bewept

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To be the subject of mourning or regretting due to a loss
2. To express deep sadness or sorrow through tears for someone or something that is gone
3. To be grieved over with tears as a result of loss or sorrow

Etymology: Bewept is the past tense and past participle of "beweep", which means to weep over someone or something, to mourn with tears. The verb grew from an Old English root, "bewēpan", meaning "to weep over, mourn, bewail", and it is a relative of the same formation in Old Frisian and Old Saxon, which shows that the idea of weeping over a loss was shared across these early Germanic languages. The structure is simple: the prefix "be-", which in older English often meant "over" or "around" as in "bemoan" or "bespeak", was attached to "weep". Middle English later carried the form forward as "bewepen" or "biwepen", and over the centuries the verb settled into its modern shape. Its survival in English is largely poetic, which suits a word whose whole purpose is to name grief expressed in tears.

Synonyms: wept, cried, sobbed, lamented, bemoaned

Antonyms: laughed, rejoiced, celebrated, smiled, cheered