mourning
mourning Lexical Profile
mourning Game Scores & Validity
• noun
The expression of deep sorrow for someone who has died, typically involving traditional conventions such as wearing black clothing.
"The entire nation observed three days of official mourning following the passing of the former president."
Black clothes or armbands worn in a period of grief as a traditional sign of bereavement.
"In the Victorian era, widows were socially expected to dress in full mourning for at least a year."
• verb
To feel or show deep sorrow or regret for the death or loss of someone or something (present participle of mourn).
"The community is still mourning the loss of its historic library after the fire."
• adjective
Relating to, expressing, or used in the grieving of someone's death.
"The quiet chirp of the mourning dove echoed softly across the empty meadow."
Word Nuance & Usage
Do not confuse 'mourning' (the expression of sorrow or grief over a death) with its exact homophone 'morning' (the early part of the day).
• Rhymes for mourning
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
From Old English 'murnung', the verbal noun of 'murnan' (to grieve, be anxious, or lament), tracing back to the Proto-Germanic root '*murnana', meaning to remember sorrowfully.