Dule

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An archaic word for deep grief, sorrow, or mournful lament felt over a loss or misfortune
2. Old-fashioned term for heavy sadness or anguish, the kind of sorrow expressed through lamentation
3. Archaic noun meaning sorrow, woe, or painful mourning, often found in older poetry and writing

Etymology: Few English readers have met "dule" outside a hymn or a poem, yet it has been a plain English word of grief since Middle English. It comes from Old French "doel" or "duel", meaning grief or lamentation, which goes back to Latin "dolere", "to feel pain or grieve". That Latin verb is also the source of "dolor", which English borrowed directly for physical and emotional pain, so "dule" and "dolour" are relatives that took different routes into the language. The closer cousins are the words in "doleful", "dolorous", and "condole", which comes from Latin "condolere", "to grieve together". The same root produced "dole" in its older sense of sorrow, so "dule" and "dole" are sister forms of one Old French word. Dule has stayed mostly literary, appearing in older poetry and religious writing where a more formal, weighted word for sorrow was wanted.

Synonyms: grief, sorrow, dole

Antonyms: joy