mater dolorosa
Americannoun
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the sorrowful mother.
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(initial capital letters) the mother of Christ sorrowing for her son.
noun
Etymology
Origin of mater dolorosa
Latin: sorrowful mother
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Warhol’s Jackie is a ravaged yet noble figure of mourning, a mater dolorosa for the nation, conveying in her composed agony the loss of JFK to an assassin’s bullet.
From The Guardian ● Nov. 11, 2016
Diana--celebrity, tabloid princess, mater dolorosa of the pop and fashion scene--was, if nothing else, the perfect idol for our times.
From Time Magazine Archive
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Many saw her as a veritable mater dolorosa.
From Time Magazine Archive
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Alone, burnt-eyed, she raises an arm as she watches the Greek fleet under full sail, a Botticelli Venus transformed into the mater dolorosa.
From Time Magazine Archive
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Take, for instance, the following little story: An American is seated in a railway carriage, and opposite him is a lady in deep mourning, and looking a picture of sadness; a veritable mater dolorosa.
From A Frenchman in America Recollections of Men and Things by O'Rell, Max
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.