lamentation

Forms

lamentation f (plural lamentations)^[1] Old French lamentacion;^[2][3] the spelling lamentation dates from the 14th century.^[3][4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin lāmentātiō (“wailing, lament”),^[2][5][4] formed on the supine of lāmentor (“to lament”), the source of lamenter.^[4][3] In Late Latin the word also meant a complaint at law.^[5]

Cognate with Italian lamentazione, Spanish lamentación and Catalan lamentació.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Gautier de Coinci (about 1225) has lamentacïon for a long, loud lament.^[2][5] Rey notes an isolated 12th-century use meaning “cause for lamenting”,^[5] and Bloch and Wartburg date the word to 1190.^[7]

Semantic evolution

From the 13th century the word was also used, mostly in the plural, for words expressing grief and regret.^[5][4] The plural also had a religious value,^[5] as in les Lamentations de Jérémie, the book of the Bible mourning the fall of Jerusalem, and le mur des Lamentations, the remaining wall of the Temple in Jerusalem.^[8][6] In literary use, from Flaubert on, it is also said of sounds that seem to lament.^[4] English lamentation comes from the Old French word and directly from Latin.^[9]

Timeline

• c. 1225 – Gautier de Coinci uses lamentacïon.^[2]
• 13th century – It is used for words of grief and regret.^[4][5]
• 14th century – The spelling lamentation appears.^[3]
• before 1880 – Flaubert uses it of a mournful sound.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. A loud, drawn-out lament or wailing.^[8][2]
2. (usually plural) A string of complaints or regrets: épargne-moi tes lamentations.^[8][4]
3. Les Lamentations (de Jérémie): the biblical book of Lamentations;^[8][6] le mur des Lamentations is the Western Wall in Jerusalem.^[8][6]
4. (literary) A sound like a lament, made by things such as the wind.^[4]

Related words

• lamenter
• lamentable
• Latin lāmentātiō
• English lamentation

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
5. ^ a b c d e f g Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
7. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
8. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com