▪ I. mourn, n. Obs. exc. dial.
[f. mourn v.]
Sorrow, lamentation, grief, mourning; also dial. a murmur, a murmuring sound.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 10478 Son quen sco was comun þar, Sco gaf hir al to murn and care. Ibid. 24229 He þat sa reufulli was dight, If he þe said oght for to light Þi mode þat was in murn. 1470–85 Malory Arthur ii. xii. 89 Sire ryght now cam rydynge this way a knyght makynge grete moorne for what cause I can not telle. 1594 Lodge & Greene Looking-gl. (1598) C 3, Is she not faire?..A pretie peate to driue your mourne away. 1824 Mrs. Cameron Marten & his Schol. vii, I helped to carry him to the grave, poor lad! His parents made great mourn over him. |
▪ II. † mourn, a. Obs.
Forms: 3 mourne, 3–4 murne, 4 morne.
[Perh. a. F. morne, believed to be of Teut. origin cogn. w. mourn v. Cf. however OE. unmurn untroubled.]
Sad, mournful.
| c 1205 Lay. 16159 Þa weoren Bruttes mid blisse auulled..þæ ær weoren murne. a 1300 K. Horn 748 (Camb. MS.) Alymar aȝen gan turne, Wel Modi and wel Murne [MS. Laud Mourne]. c 1315 Shoreham Poems ii. 40 O swete leuedy, wat þey was wo, Þo ihesus by-come morne. c 1330 Arth. & Merl. 8213 (Kölbing) His hert was sore, his cher murne. |
▪ III. mourn, v.1
(mɔən)
Forms: 1 murnan, 3 morȝne(n, 3–4 morun, 3–6 morn(e, 3–7 mourne, murn(e, 4 morene, mourene, 4–6 moorn(e, 5 mowrn(e, 6– mourn, (9 dial. moorn, murn).
[Com. Teut.: OE. murnan wk. vb. (commonly str., pret. mearn, pl. murnon) + OS. mornon (also mornian), OHG. mornên to be anxious or careful, ON. morna to pine away (so Norw. morna, Ross), Goth. maurnan to be anxious; the Teut. root *mur- is commonly referred to the Indogermanic *smer- to remember, whence Gr. µέριµνα care, sorrow; some scholars, however, taking the ON. sense as primary, suggest the root *mer- to die, wither.]
I. intr.
1. To feel sorrow, grief, or regret (often with added notion of expressing one's grief); to sorrow, grieve, lament. († In OE. also to be anxious or careful.)
In early use often said of the heart, soul, etc. Also † to mourn in (one's) mood, mind, heart, thought, etc.
| c 888 K. ælfred Boeth. vii. §2 Ȝif þu þonne heora þeᵹen beon wilt & þe heora þeawas liciað, to hwon myrnst þu swa swiðe? a 1000 Andreas 99 (Gr.) Ne beo ðu on sefan to forht ne on mode ne murn! c 1205 Lay. 3116 In hire bure heo [Cordoille] abed & þolede þene mod-kare & mornede swþe. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 2053 He [Joseph] herde hem [the butler and baker] murnen, he hem freinde for-quat. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xxx. (Theodora) 346 Þane scho cane murne, gretand sare. 1382 Wyclif Matt. v. 5 Blessid be thei that mournen [c 1400 Apol. Loll. 7 mornun], for thei shuln be comfortid. c 1386 Chaucer Wife's Prol. 848, I shal make thyn herte for to morne ffor wel I woot thy pacience is gon. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 344/1 Moornyn, and sorowyn, mereo, gemo. c 1470 Gol. & Gaw. 1128 The king precious in pane Sair murnand in mude. 1508 Dunbar Tua Mariit Wemen 212 Apone sic materis I muse, at mydnyght, full oft, And murnys so in my mynd, I murdris my selfin. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 86 b, In all euyll thou mayst fynde cause to mourne and sorowe. a 1533 Ld. Berners Huon liv. 181 When Huon sawe howe he had not wherewith to arme him his hert mourned ryght sore. 1590 Shakes. Com. Err. i. i. 74 The prettie babes That mourn'd for fashion, ignorant what to feare. 1697 Congreve Mourn. Bride i. iv, Some Here are, who seem to mourn at our Success! 1784 Burns Man was Made to Mourn viii, Unmindful, tho' a weeping wife, And helpless offspring mourn. 1860 Pusey Min. Proph. 299 It is as we would say, ‘Let me mourn on’, a mourning inexhaustible, because the woe too and the cause of grief was unceasing. |
b. Const. for, over, also † of, † on, † upon.
| a 1000 Waldere i. 43 Ne murn ðu for ði mece ðe wearð maðma cyst. a 1300 Cursor M. 19014 For þair misdedes morun. 1530 Palsgr. 640/2 He morneth sore for the losse of his father. 1535 Coverdale Hos. x. 5 Therfore shall the people mourne ouer them. 1602 Shakes. Ham. ii. ii. 151 (1604 Qo.) He..Fell..by this declension, Into the madnes wherein now he raues, And all we mourne for. 1611 Bible 1 Esdras viii. 72, I mourned for the iniquitie. 1715 De Foe Fam. Instruct. i. v. (1841) I. 106 What we laughed at and made a jest of in our children before, we must now mourn over, and correct them for. 1789 Witherspoon Regeneration iii. §4 They never mourned for sin in a manner corresponding to the strong scripture declarations of its odious and hateful nature. 1829 Lytton Disowned x, Let us not waste them in mourning over blighted hopes and severed hearts. 1875 J. P. Hopps Princ. Relig. iii. (1878) 12 We have, then, not a past to mourn for, but a future to win. |
c. To utter lamentations to some one. rare.
| 1533 Gau Richt Vay (S.T.S.) 5 Bot ane chrissine prayer is quhen ane man prais and murnis inuertlie in his hart to god efter his help. 1704 Pope Pastorals, Autumn 21 Far from Delia, to the winds I mourn. 1742 Gray Sonnet Death R. West 13, I fruitless mourn to him that cannot hear. |
† d. Of animals: To pine. Obs.
| 1577 B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. iv. (1586) 169 b, The Pigion..mourneth, if she be restrained of her liberty. 1613 Purchas Pilgrimage (1614) 631 The cattell mourned for want of milkers. 1725 Bradley Fam. Dict. s.v. Rabbit, [The female rabbits] will otherwise mourn, and hardly bring up their Young. 1784 Cowper Task v. 27 The cattle mourn in corners where the fence Screens them [from the cold]. |
e. fig. Of a plant or flower. † Also, in gardening language, to droop, hang down.
| 1626 Bacon Sylva §493 Mary-golds..and indeed most Flowers, doe open or spread their Leaues abroad, when the Sunne shineth serene and faire;..They reioyce at the presence of the Sunne; and mourne at the absence thereof. 1798 Trans. Soc. Arts XVI. 164 And by being dryer, the plants did not mourn so much as the others when the weather was wet. a 1832 ‘B. Cornwall’ Eng. Songs 3 The weed mourns on the castle wall. |
2. esp. To lament the death of some one. Const. for.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 23984 Clething wil i me tak o care..And murn wit hir þat him [sc. Christ] bar. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 20 Of his body was no force, non for him wild murne. c 1470 Gol. & Gaw. 796 Than schir Spynagros..Murnyt for schir Gawyne. 1535 Coverdale 2 Chron. xxxv. 24 All Iuda and Ierusalem mourned for Iosias. 1559 Mirr. Mag., Dk. York i, Nor yet to mourne, for this my sonne is dead. 1601 Shakes. All's Well iv. iii. 102, I haue..buried a wife, mourn'd for her [etc.]. c 1611 Chapman Iliad vii. 357 Priam commanded none should mourne, but in still silence yeeld Their honord carkasses to fire, and onely grieue in heart. 1695 Prior Ode Queen's Death iii, For Her the Wise and Great shall mourn. 1756 C. Smart tr. Horace, Art P. (1826) II. 351 Those who mourn at funerals for pay, do and say more than those that are afflicted from their hearts. 1822 Shelley Chas. I, v. 10 A widow bird sate mourning for her love Upon a wintry bough. 1849 Tennyson In Mem. ix. 5 So draw him home to those that mourn In vain. 1881 Besant & Rice Chapl. Fleet I. 3 The people listen, now, to the solemn words of a service which seems spoken by the dead man himself to those who mourn. |
b. To exhibit the conventional signs of grief for a period following the death of a person; esp. to wear mourning garments. † to mourn up: to complete the period of mourning.
| 1530 Palsgr. 640/2, I morne for a deed man, I weare blacke garmentes, je porte le dueil. Yonder gentylman morneth, by lykelyhodde his father is deed. 1546 Langley Pol. Verg. De Invent. vi. vii. (1663) 239 Wherefore Numa ordained that such as mourned up before the day limited should offer a Cow..for an expiation. 1591 Shakes. 1 Hen VI, i. i. 17 We mourne in black, why mourn we not in blood? Henry is dead, and neuer shall reuiue. 1661 Heylin Hist. Ref. II. iii. §3. 69 A Levite that mourned might not serve or sing. 1717 Pope Elegy Unfort. Lady 56 What tho' no friends in sable weeds appear, Grieve for an hour, perhaps, then mourn a year. 1727–41 Chambers Cycl. s.v. Mourning, The antient Spartan and Roman ladies mourned in white;..Kings and cardinals mourn in purple. 1737 Whiston Josephus, Antiq. iv. v. §1 The people mourned for Aaron thirty days. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. ii. I. 250 When foreign princes died, he [Dk. of Monmouth] had mourned for them in the long purple cloak, which [etc.]. 1885 H. Conway Family Affair xxvi, He knew that for all that had befallen she was mourning in mental sackcloth and ashes. |
† 3. To have a painful longing. Const. after; also to with inf. In OE. also to care for. Obs.
| a 1000 Andreas 37 (Gr.) Hyᵹe wæs oncyrred, þæt hie ne murndan æfter mandreame. c 1205 Lay. 14369 He murnede ful swiðe to habben þat mæiden to wiue. a 1225 Ancr. R. 366 His deore spuse murnede so swuðe efter him þet heo wiðuten him nefde no delit i none þinge. c 1386 Chaucer Miller's T. 518, I moorne as dooth a lamb after the tete. |
4. To make a low inarticulate sound indicative of pain or grief. In literary use only of a dove (with mixture of sense 1); dial. = moan v.
| 1535 Coverdale Isa. lix. 11 We roare all like Beeres, & mourne stil like doues. 1632 Sherwood, To mourne or croo like a Doue, roucouler. 1822 Shelley Fragm. Unfinished Drama 68 The dove mourned in the pine, Sad prophetess of sorrows not her own. 1881 Oxfordsh. Gloss. Suppl., s.v., That poor baby do moorn. |
II. trans.
5. To grieve or sorrow for (something); to lament, deplore, bewail, bemoan.
| a 1000 Bi Manna Wyrdum 20 (Gr.) Sumne sceal.. murnan meotudᵹesceaft mode ᵹebysᵹad. 1586 ? C'tess Pembroke Clorinda 96 Thus do we weep and waile,..Mourning, in others, our own miseries. 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. v. 298 To murne and Lament thair sinis. 1604 Shakes. Oth. i. iii. 204 To mourne a Mischeefe that is past and gon, Is the next way to draw new mischiefe on. 1697 Congreve Mourn. Bride iii. viii, All those Ills which thou so long hast mourn'd. 1713 Addison Cato i. vi, Portius himself oft falls in tears before me, As if he mourn'd his rival's ill success. 1817 Shelley Rev. Islam x. xliii, As near one lover's tomb Two gentle sisters mourn their desolation. 1900 H. Lawson Over Shiprails 108 Finally he was left, the last of his tribe, to mourn his lot in solitude. |
b. With clause as obj.
| c 1400 Destr. Troy 6591 Then Menestaus mournyt, & mykell sorow hade, That Troilus, þe triet, was takyn of his hond. 1567 Gude & Godlie Ball. (S.T.S.) 95 Thow sall not follow wickit mennis wayis, Nor zit murne that sinfull haif gude dayis. 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. iv. iii. 259 O if in blacke my Ladies browes be deckt, It mournes, that painting vsurping haire Should rauish doters with a false aspect. 1817 Shelley Rev. Islam ii. xxxvi, She mourned that grace and power were thrown as food To the hyaena lust. |
6. To lament, grieve, or sorrow for, to express grief for (someone dead, or someone's death).
| 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 306 Mournynge thy deth, after y⊇ custome of y⊇ iewes. 1586 L. Bryskett Past. Aegl. Death Sidney 18 Now hath the pore turtle gon to school..To learne to mourne her lost make! 1601 Shakes. Jul. C. iii. ii. 45 Here comes his Body, mourn'd by Marke Antony. 1667 Milton P.L. xi. 760 As when a Father mourns His Children. 1685 Dryden Thren. August. 372 The Muse that mourns him now his happy triumph sung. 1742 Young Nt. Th. ii. 22 Dost thou mourn Philander's fate? 1805 Scott Last Minstr. vi. xxiii, Soft is the note, and sad the lay, That mourns the lovely Rosabelle. 1863 Woolner My Beautiful Lady 105 Thou mourn'd'st not most the vanished soul Which was my Lord's through thine. 1880 M. E. Braddon Just as I am vi, She loved him dearly, and mourned him more deeply than any of us. |
7. ‘To utter in a sorrowful manner’ (J.).
| 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1658) 361 The Lion sighed deeply, and mourned forth a lamentable roaring. 1634 Milton Comus 235 Where the love-lorn Nightingale Nightly to thee her sad Song mourneth well. 1819 Keats Isabella xli, The Spirit mourn'd ‘Adieu!’ 1889 W. S. Gilbert Gondoliers i. 14 Bury love that all condemn, And let the whirlwind mourn its requiem! |
▪ IV. † mourn, v.2 Obs. rare.
[A perversion of the Fr. name for glanders (see mortechien), due to association with prec.]
intr. Only in to mourn of the chine: to suffer from glanders. Cf. mose v.
| 1590 Greene Never too late (1600) 55 Well, this Louer..began..to mourne of the chine, and to hang the lip. |
▪ V. mourn(e
obs. forms of morne n.1, mourn.