Mourn

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /mɔɹn/

Definitions

1. To feel and express deep sorrow or grief over the loss or death of someone, or to observe a period of formal respect following such a loss
2. To express sorrow and sadness following a loss or death, often through observable signs of grief
3. To feel and demonstrate deep emotional pain in response to someone's passing or a significant loss

Etymology: Old English "murnan" meant to care about something, to be anxious or concerned, and it is only through a later shift that the word came to mean grief for a death. Its ancestor, the Proto-Germanic "*murnaną", carried that same sense of worry and unease, so the modern meaning of mourning for the dead developed gradually from a broader idea of being troubled. The word reached English through Middle English "mornen" and "mournen", and it survives in a sibling in French, "morne", which means gloomy or dull. The two words share a common ancestor, which is why a French speaker's word for gloom and an English speaker's word for lament sit so close together.

Synonyms: grieve, sorrow, lament

Antonyms: celebrate, rejoice, be joyful