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.

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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

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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

Roman vessels—a red thing that might have been a lamp, another that might have been a lachrymatory.

From The Daisy chain, or Aspirations by Yonge, Charlotte Mary

The French Physiological Classification;—Asphyxiating Substances;— Toxic Substances;—Chemicals or poison gases were either asphyxiating, toxic, lachrymatory, vesicant, or sternutatory.

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

Shall we not enshrine these sparkling drops in a lachrymatory and, having sealed the sacred fluid with the city seal, shall we not set it in a prominent part of our civick museum?

From The Passionate Elopement by MacKenzie, Compton