Maudle

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To speak or behave in a foolishly emotional, tearful way, often as a result of drinking too much
2. To ramble on sentimentally, being weepy and overly emotional, typically while under the influence of alcohol
3. To act in a mawkish, self-pitying manner, becoming tearfully sentimental as if slightly drunk

Etymology: Maudle is a back-formation from "maudlin", and the verb it produced is a little surprising: it was built by treating the adjective's ending as if it were a verb ending, much as "edit" was later carved out of "editor". Speakers apparently heard the -in of "maudlin" as the mark of a present participle, so they stripped it away and were left with "maudle", meaning to make or become maudlin, or to talk in a tearful, sentimental way. The adjective itself has a more famous history. "Maudlin" comes from Mary Magdalene, whom medieval artists often painted weeping at the crucifixion, and the name was shortened to "Maudelin" and then into "maudlin", first meaning tearful and only later sentimental and drunkenly weepy. The verb "maudle" therefore sits at the end of a chain that starts with a saint's name and ends with a single syllable of self-pity.