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keening - 3 dictionary results

keen⋅ing

  [kee-ning]
Use keening in a Sentence
–noun
1. the act of a person who keens.
2. a wailing lament for the dead; keen.
Origin:
1875–80; keen 2 + -ing 1

keen

2  [keen]
–noun
1. a wailing lament for the dead.
–verb (used without object)
2. to wail in lamentation for the dead.
–verb (used with object)
3. to bewail or lament by or with keening.
Origin:
1805–15; < Ir caoine (n.), caoin- (v., s. of caoinim) lament

Related forms:
keener, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To keening
keen 2   (kēn)   
n.  A loud, wailing lament for the dead.
intr.v.   keened, keen·ing, keens
To wail in lamentation, especially for the dead. See Synonyms at cry.

[From Irish Gaelic caoineadh, from caoninim, I lament, from Old Irish caínim, coínim, perhaps of Brittonic origin.]
keen'er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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