the.com/lament
grief that learned to sing instead of merely sob
means To lament is to express deep sorrow or regret, often aloud — through crying, mourning, or a formal song of grief.
from From Latin 'lamentari,' to wail or moan, built on 'lamentum,' a wailing or cry of mourning. The root is thought to be imitative — echoing the very sound of grief, the open-mouthed 'la' of someone weeping. It traveled into English through Old French 'lamenter' in the late Middle Ages, carrying its mourner's voice intact.
- sacred genre
- biblical book of Lamentations is five acrostic poems
- irish wake
- professional keeners once wailed for hire at funerals
- verb too
- you can lament aloud, no death required
- blues roots
- the lament birthed entire musical traditions of sorrow
- latin origin
- from lamentum, a wailing or weeping cry
the death of beowulf — old english poem where warriors mourn their fallen king with elegies around 700 ad
jeremiad — biblical book of lamentations attributed to the prophet jeremiah mourning jerusalem's destruction in 586 bc
irish wake keening — traditional practice where professional mourners (keeners) wailed laments over the dead in ireland through the 20th century