lachrymatory

American  

[lak-ruh-muh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee] / ˈlæk rə məˌtɔr i, -ˌtoʊr i /

Or lacrimatory

adjective

1. of, relating to, or causing the shedding of tears.

---

noun

lachrymatories plural

1. Also called lachrymal.  a small, narrow-necked vase found in ancient Roman tombs, formerly thought to have been used to catch and keep the tears of bereaved friends.

lachrymatory British  

/ ˈlækrɪmətərɪ, -trɪ /

noun

1. a small vessel found in ancient tombs, formerly thought to hold the tears of mourners

---

adjective

1. a variant spelling of lacrimatory

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• lachrymatories
  plural

Etymology

Origin of lachrymatory

1650–60; (noun) < Medieval Latin lachrymātōrium, equivalent to lachrymā ( re ) to shed tears + -tōrium -tory ²; (adj.) < Medieval Latin lachrymātōrius, equivalent to lachrymā ( re ) + -tōrius -tory ¹; see lachrymal

Example Sentences

Onions make us teary because a reaction in the onion releases a chemical called lachrymatory factor, or LF, that irritates our eyes.

From New York Times • Sep. 5, 2017

"What he was proposing to use in Mesopotamia was lachrymatory gas, which is essentially tear gas, not mustard gas."

From BBC • Jan. 21, 2015

I’d almost bet a fiver that those two pre-Raphaelite angels will each be provided with an antique lachrymatory designed by their dear brother, and they’ll drop their tears therein and stopper them up.

From Eli's Children The Chronicles of an Unhappy Family by Fenn, George Manville

After Fanny Lear came Froufrou, the lineal successor of The Stranger as the current masterpiece of the lachrymatory drama.

From Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Vol. XVI., December, 1880. by Various

Again, walking into gas "pockets" up a trench one has been stopped as by a fierce blow across the eyes, the lachrymatory effect was so piercing and sudden.

From The Riddle of the Rhine; chemical strategy in peace and war by Lefebure, Victor