Dictionary

mournsome en · ADJ

Etymology

Etymology tree English mourn Proto-Indo-European *sem- Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *-ós Proto-Indo-European *-ós Proto-Indo-European *somHós Proto-Germanic *samaz Proto-Germanic *-samaz Proto-West Germanic *-sam Old English -sum Middle English -som English -some English mournsome From mourn + -some.

Meanings

1. Characterised or marked by mourning; mournful.
   • I become the wind. I wind and wend my mournsome way, I thread the trees with keening. 2002, Pat Stewart, Bill Laforme, Key Light:
   • “That sure sounds mournsome, ma'am. Who looked after you when you ran out of kin entire?” 2012, Lou Cameron, Stringer and the Hangman's Rodeo:
   • I sat up an' squinted in the mournsome dim. 2004, David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas, London: Sceptre (Hodder and Stoughton), →ISBN:
   • Then there came a mellow noise, very low and mournsome, not a sound to be afraid of, but to long to know the meaning, with a soft rise of the hair. 1869, R. D. Blackmore, Lorna Doone: A Romance of Exmoor:

Forms