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lachrymosity

 - 3 dictionary results

lach⋅ry⋅mose

  [lak-ruh-mohs]
Use lachrymosity in a Sentence
–adjective
1. suggestive of or tending to cause tears; mournful.
2. given to shedding tears readily; tearful.
Origin:
1655–65; < L lacrimōsus, equiv. to lacrim(a) tear (see lachrymal ) + -ōsus -ose 1

Related forms:
lach⋅ry⋅mose⋅ly, adverb
lach⋅ry⋅mos⋅i⋅ty  [lak-ruh-mos-i-tee] , noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To lachrymosity
lach·ry·mose   (lāk'rə-mōs')   
adj.  

  1. Weeping or inclined to weep; tearful.

  2. Causing or tending to cause tears.


[Latin lacrimōsus, from lacrima, tear; see lachrymal.]
lach'ry·mose'ly adv., lach'ry·mos'i·ty (-mŏs'ĭ-tē) 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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Word Origin & History

lachrymose 
1661, "tear-like," from L. lacrimosus "tearful, sorrowful," from lacrima "tear," a dialect-altered borrowing of Gk. dakryma "tear," from dakryein "to shed tears," from dakry "tear," from PIE *dakru-/*draku- (see tear (n.)). Meaning "given to tears, tearful" is first attested 1727; meaning "of a mournful character" is from 1822. The -d- to -l- alteration in L. is the so-called "Sabine -L-," cf. L. olere "smell," from root of odor, and Ulixes, the L. form of Gk. Odysseus.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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