mourn

English

Alternative forms

morne (14th-15th centuries)

Etymology

From Middle English mornen, mournen, from Old English murnan, from Proto-Germanic *murnaną. Cognate with French morne (“gloomy”).

Pronunciation

(General American) enPR: môrn, IPA^(key): /moɹn/, [ˈmo̞ɹn]; (rare) enPR: mo͝orn, IPA^(key): /mʊɹn/
(Received Pronunciation) enPR: môn, IPA^(key): /mɔːn/; (rare) enPR: mo͝orn, IPA^(key): /mʊən/
Audio (UK) (file)
(without the horse–hoarse merger, rhotic) enPR: mōrn, IPA^(key): /mo(ː)ɹn/; (rare) enPR: mo͝orn, IPA^(key): /mʊɹn/
(without the horse–hoarse merger, non-rhotic) IPA^(key): /moən/; (rare) enPR: mo͝orn, IPA^(key): /mʊən/
Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)n
Homophone: mourne; morne (accents with the horse–hoarse merger)

Verb

mourn (third-person singular simple present mourns, present participle mourning, simple past and past participle mourned)

(transitive, intransitive) To express sadness or sorrow for; to grieve over (especially a death).
- 1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Sixt”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act I, scene i]:
  We mourn in black; why mourn we not in blood?
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981, Genesis 23:2:
  Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.
- 2012, BioWare, Mass Effect 3 (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, OCLC 962368035, PC, scene: Nightmare:
  Thane Krios: It seems there will be no one to mourn me when I die. You're the only friend I've made in ten years.
(transitive) To utter in a sorrowful manner.
(intransitive) To wear mourning.

Derived terms

bemourn
mourner
mournful
mourning
mourning dove
overmourn

Translations

express sadness for, grieve over

Arabic: نَدَبَ‎ (nadaba)
Bengali: শোক করা (śok kôra)
Bulgarian: тъгувам (bg) (tǎguvam), скърбя (bg) (skǎrbja)
Cherokee: ᎠᏍᎪᏂᎭ (asgoniha)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 哀悼 (zh) (āidào), 悲悼 (zh) (bēidào), 悼念 (zh) (dàoniàn)
Czech: truchlit
Danish: sørge
Dutch: treuren (nl), rouwen (nl)
Dzongkha: མྱ་ངན་འབད་བ (mya ngan 'bad ba)
Esperanto: priplori
Estonian: leinama
Faroese: syrgja
Finnish: surra (fi)
French: déplorer (fr), porter le deuil (fr)
Galician: lamentar (gl)
Georgian: დატირება (daṭireba)
German: trauern (de)
Greek:
Ancient: πενθέω (penthéō)
Hebrew: אבל‎ (he) (avál)
Hungarian: gyászol (hu)
Icelandic: syrgja (is)
Ido: traurar (io)
Irish: caoin
Italian: rimpiangere (it), essere (in) lutto
Japanese: 悲しむ (ja) (かなしむ, kanashimu), 悼む (ja) (いたむ, itamu)
Jarai: čŏk
Khmer: កាន់ទុក្ខ (kan tuk)
Korean: 슬퍼하다 (seulpeohada)
Lao: please add this translation if you can
Latin: lūgeō
Malay: berkabung (ms)
Norwegian:
Bokmål: sørge
Occitan: deplorar (oc), plorar (oc), lamentar
Old English: murnan
Oromo: gadduu, gufufuu
Persian: سوگواری کردن‎ (sugvâri kardan)
Portuguese: lamentar (pt), estar de luto
Russian: горева́ть (ru) impf (gorevátʹ), скорбе́ть (ru) impf (skorbétʹ), опла́кивать (ru) impf (oplákivatʹ)
Scottish Gaelic: caoidh, caoin, dèan bròn
Slovene: žalovati (sl) impf
Spanish: lamentar (es), estar de luto
Swahili: -fiwa, -omboleza
Swedish: sörja (sv)
Thai: please add this translation if you can
Tocharian B: kwäs-
Ukrainian: опла́кувати impf (oplákuvaty), скорбо́ти impf (skorbóty)
Vietnamese: thương tiếc (vi), xót xa (vi)
West Frisian: rouje
Yiddish: טרויערן‎ (troyern)

Noun

mourn (countable and uncountable, plural mourns)

(now literary) Sorrow, grief.
- 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, “vij”, in Le Morte Darthur, book II:
  Anone after ther cam balen / and whan he sawe kynge Arthur / he alyght of his hors / and cam to the kynge on foote / and salewed hym / by my hede saide Arthur ye be welcome / Sire ryght now cam rydynge this way a knyght makynge grete moorne / for what cause I can not telle
  (please add an English translation of this quote)
A ring fitted upon the head of a lance to prevent wounding an adversary in tilting.

Anagrams

Munro, munro