maudlin English · revision 332

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈmɔːd.lɪn/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is an alteration of the name of Mary [[Magdalene]],^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate) through Middle English ''Maudelen'',^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) [[bor|fro|Madelaine]]^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) and [[der|la-lat|Magdalēnē]],^(Barnhart 1995)^(RHWU) [[der|grc|Μαγδαληνή|tr=Magdalēnḗ|t=woman of Magdala]].^(Barnhart 1995)^(RHWU) Magdala was a town on the Sea of Galilee.^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Tearful, weeping, a sense now obsolete.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In the Middle Ages Mary Magdalene was believed to be the repentant sinner of Luke 7:37, and paintings often showed her weeping in repentance,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995)^(AHD) so her name came to mean “tearful”.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995) By the 1630s it meant tearfully or excessively sentimental,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995) and from ''maudlin-drunk'' it also described the tearful stage of drunkenness.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1325 – ''Maudelen'' as a name;^(Barnhart 1995) the OED's first quotation is c. 1320.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1509 – Merriam-Webster's date for the adjective;^(MW Collegiate) RHWU gives 1500–10.^(RHWU)

+ * 1607 – tearful;^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995) Etymonline gives c. 1600.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1616 – ''maudlin-drunk'';^(OED 1989) Etymonline gives the 1610s.^(Etymonline)

+ * before 1631 – mawkishly sentimental.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * by 1700 – slang, tipsy and foolish from drink.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1838 – noun, mawkish sentiment.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Effusively, tearfully or foolishly sentimental.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Silly and sentimental from drink.^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(archaic)'' Tearful.^(OED 1989)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[maudlinly]]

+ * [[maudlinness]]

+ * [[maudlinism]]

+ * [[unmaudlin]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[Magdalene]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}