Mourne

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. An archaic verb meaning to grieve deeply or express sorrow over a loss ; the Mourne Mountains, a range of granite hills in County Down, Northern Ireland
2. Old poetic word for lamenting or sorrowing over a death ; a upland range of granite peaks in County Down in the north of Ireland
3. To feel or express grief in an old-fashioned literary way ; a mountain range of granite summits located in County Down, Northern Ireland

Etymology: "Mourne" is an older spelling variant of "morne," the form that in turn lies behind the modern English "mourn." The verb's sense of grieving deeply is what the word has carried for centuries, and the spelling with the "-e" reflects the Middle English practice of marking the vowel's length and pronunciation at the end of a word. Because the source offers no further detail, the story of the word stops here: "mourne" is simply a spelling of "morne," and its meaning has stayed close to deep sorrow over a loss.