lament · noun — an expression of grief, suffering, sadness or regret. It carries an Arena rating of 1845, earned across 33 head-to-head judged battles.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, lament ranks #326 of 17,132 for Most Elegant Words, #714 of 17,143 for Most Malleable Words, #2,834 of 17,134 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #3,252 of 17,135 for Most Beautiful Words.
lament is pronounced /ləˈmɛnt/.
Why “lament” is a great word
A passionate expression of grief or regret, often formalized as a song or poem. From Latin lāmentum ("a wailing, weeping"), from lāmentārī ("to wail, weep"), with the formative -mentum; the root *la- is probably imitative. First attested in English as a noun in the 1590s and as a verb in 1535. Unlike "regret," which suggests a private ache, or "bemoan," which crackles with protest, a lament is ceremonial, performed grief—grief made public and enduring. It is the keening cadence of a funeral dirge, the structured stanzas of an elegy, the raw and rhythmic cry that gives shape to formless anguish—sorrow not merely felt but offered outward, an insistence that profound loss deserves its own music.
❧ Essay by Lexicurio’s AI · definition, etymology & citations from published sources
Etymology
A back-formation from lamentation or else from Middle French lamenter and its etymon Latin lāmentor (“to wail, weep”), from lāmentum (“wailing, moaning, weeping”); with formative -mentum, from the root *la-, probably ultimately imitative. Also see latrare.
noun
- An expression of grief, suffering, sadness or regret.
- A song expressing grief.
verb
- To express grief; to weep or wail; to mourn.e.g.“Ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice.” — 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, John 16:20:
- To express great sorrow or regret over; to bewail.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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