Lamentation
/ˌlæm.ənˈteɪ.ʃən/noun
The act or sound of expressing grief or sorrow.
Did you know?Its root is tied to Latin *lamentum*, a word for wailing or a cry of mourning, which made lamentation a formal, almost ritual language of grief in classical and biblical texts.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*men-
“to think, have in mind”
Latin
Latin
lamentum
“a wail, moan, or cry of mourning”
Late Latin
Latin
lamentatio
“mourning, lamenting”
Old French
Old French
lamentation
“mourning, complaint, grief-stricken wailing”
Middle English
English
lamentacioun
“an expression of sorrow or mourning”
Modern English
English
lamentation
“the act or sound of expressing grief or sorrow”