mourning
[mawr-ning, mohr-]
- the act of a person who mourns; sorrowing or lamentation.
- the conventional manifestation of sorrow for a person's death, especially by the wearing of black clothes or a black armband, the hanging of flags at half-mast, etc.
- the outward symbols of such sorrow, as black garments.
- the period or interval during which a person grieves or formally expresses grief, as by wearing black garments.
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- of, relating to, or used in mourning.
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Origin of mourning
Antonyms
1. rejoicing.
mourn
[mawrn, mohrn]
- to feel or express sorrow or grief.
- to grieve or lament for the dead.
- to show the conventional or usual signs of sorrow over a person's death.
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- to feel or express sorrow or grief over (misfortune, loss, or anything regretted); deplore.
- to grieve or lament over (the dead).
- to utter in a sorrowful manner.
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Origin of mourn
before 900; Middle English mo(u)rnen, Old English murnan; cognate with Old High German mornēn, Old Norse morna, Gothic maurnan
Synonyms
See more synonyms for mourn on Thesaurus.com1. bewail, bemoan. See grieve.
Antonyms
1. laugh, rejoice.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for mourning
Contemporary Examples
The late-November hacking of Sony, perhaps the most vicious episode of its kind, comes at the end of the period of mourning.
Now that the Confucian-inspired mourning period is over, the son is free to embark on his own programs and policies.
Soon after Abu Ein died, the Palestinian Authority announced three days of mourning.
A Fish and Wildlife special agent collected the bodies of two birds at the site, a redhead duck and a mourning dove.
Two Texas Regulators Tried to Enforce the Rules. They Were Fired.David Hasemyer, InsideClimate News
December 9, 2014
So while mourning the closing of De Robertis, consider that we might someday mourn the bankruptcy of whatever chain replaces it.
Historical Examples
"And you know we shall be in mourning," said Psyche to her brother.
The SpendersHarry Leon Wilson
Nellie had been frankly scandalized at the idea of mourning.
DustMr. and Mrs. Haldeman-Julius
Is their condition on earth eminently "the house of mourning?"
Female Scripture Biographies, Vol. IIFrancis Augustus Cox
Then they marched home and their houses were filled with mourning.
Welsh Fairy TalesWilliam Elliott Griffis
The household was filled with mourning, but it was too late.
Old Greek Folk Stories Told AnewJosephine Preston Peabody
mourning
- the act or feelings of one who mourns; grief
- the conventional symbols of grief, such as the wearing of black
- the period of time during which a death is officially mourned
- in mourning observing the conventions of mourning
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- of or relating to mourning
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mourn
- to feel or express sadness for the death or loss of (someone or something)
- (intr) to observe the customs of mourning, as by wearing black
- (tr) to grieve over (loss or misfortune)
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Word Origin
Old English murnan; compare Old High German mornēn to be troubled, Gothic maurnan to grieve, Greek mermeros worried
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for mourning
n.
Old English murnung "complaint, grief," verbal noun from mourn (v.).
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mourn
v.
Old English murnan "to mourn, bemoan, long after," also "be anxious about, be careful" (class III strong verb; past tense mearn, past participle murnen), from Proto-Germanic *murnan "to remember sorrowfully" (cf. Old Saxon mornon, Old High German mornen, Gothic maurnan "to mourn," Old Norse morna "to pine away"), probably from PIE root *(s)mer- "to remember" (see memory); or, if the Old Norse sense is the base one, from *mer- "to die, wither." Related: Mourned; mourning.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper