Lachrymate

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To produce tears, especially in response to strong emotion, irritation or a physical stimulus such as smoke or onions
2. To weep or give off tears, often as a bodily reaction to something painful or overwhelming
3. Describing the act of releasing tears from the eyes, whether from sorrow, laughter or an irritant

Etymology: The verb "lachrymate" comes from Latin "lachrymō" or "lacrimō," meaning "to weep," which is built on the noun "lacrima" ("tear"). The English form arrived through the perfect passive participle "lachrymātus," and the Latin verb-forming suffix "-ate" was added to create the verb. In English, its sense is plain and physical: the word describes the eyes producing tears, rather than the emotional act of crying. The Latin spelling shows an older variant. "Lachryma," the form that gave the word its initial "ch," shows up in Medieval Latin, where the noun was reshaped and the "-ate" suffix attached again. The word therefore reached English through two overlapping Latin routes, one classical and one medieval, which explains why both "lacrimate" and "lachrymate" appear in dictionaries.

Synonyms: weep, cry, tear up