lachrymose

English

WOTD – 20 July 2006

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin lacrimōsus, from lacrima (“tear”) + -osus (“-ful”), from Old Latin dacrima, from Proto-Indo-European *dakru-, cognate with English tear.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlæk.ɹɪ.moʊs/

• Audio (US)

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Adjective

lachrymose (comparative more lachrymose, superlative most lachrymose)

1. Tearful, sorrowful, sad, pertaining to tears, weeping, causing tears or crying.
   • 1927, Thornton Wilder, The Bridge of San Luis Rey, page 69:

     It is true that Limeans were given to interpolating trivial songs into the most exquisite comedies and some lachrymose effects into the austerest music; but at least they never submitted to the boredom of a misplaced veneration.

Derived terms

• lachrymatory
• lachrymosely
• lachrymosity
• unlachrymose

Translations

tearful; causing tears

• Arabic: بكّاء (ar) m
• Bulgarian: сълзлив (bg) (sǎlzliv), плачещ (bg) (plačešt)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 催泪的 (cuīlèide)

• Dutch: aangrijpend (nl), treurig (nl), intriest (nl)
• Finnish: itkuinen (fi), kyynelehtivä (fi) (tearful), itkettävä (fi) (causing tears)
• French: lacrymal (fr)
• Friulian: lagrimôs
• German: ergreifend (de), traurig (de), nahe gehend
• Italian: lacrimoso
• Maori: matawai, matawaia
• Polish: łzawy (pl), płaczliwy (pl)
• Portuguese: lacrimoso (pt)
• Romanian: lăcrimos (ro)
• Russian: плакси́вый (ru) (plaksívyj), слезли́вый (ru) (slezlívyj)
• Spanish: lacrimoso, lacrimógeno
• Swedish: tårfylld (sv), gråtmild (sv), sorglig (sv)
• Turkish: ağlamaklı (tr) (tearful), ağlatan (causing tears)
• Welsh: dagreuol (cy), wylofus