Dictionary

sackcloth en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

From Middle English sakcloth, sekcloth, sekclath, sekklath. By surface analysis, sack + cloth.

Meanings

1. (countable, uncountable) A coarse hessian style of cloth used to make sacks.
2. (also, countable, figuratively, uncountable, usually, with “and ashes”) Garments worn as an act of penance.
   • After he realised the gravity of his crime he spent some time wearing sackcloth and ashes.
   • No more ashes, no more sackcloth / And an armband made of black cloth / Will someday never more adorn a sleeve 1959, “We Will All Go Together When We Go”, in Tom Lehrer (music), An Evening Wasted with Tom Lehrer, performed by Tom Lehrer:
   • Next you saw her alone, a kneeling penitent at the foot of the crucifix; her long fair hair is unbound, and the sackcloth robe is girded by a cord round her slender shape: her hands are clasped, and tears are flowing fast from the quenched radiance of those shadowy eyes;... 1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XVII, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume III, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 144:

Forms

Deriveds

sackclothed · wear sackcloth and ashes

Synonyms

hairshirt · cilice

Translations (39)

ga sacéadach (cloth) · cy sachliain (cloth) · bg кеневир (cloth) · egy Aa18-Z1-g-A-D3 (cloth) · es sambenito (figuratively: garment worn as act of penance) · uk мішкови́на (cloth) · pdt Sakzeich (cloth) · ota قیل (cloth) · bg зебло (cloth) · fi säkkikangas (cloth) · enm sak (cloth) · grc σάκκος (cloth) · gd aodach-cainb (cloth) · cmn 麻布 (cloth) · ru дерю́га (cloth) · pl wór pokutny (figuratively: garment worn as act of penance) · da sækkelærred (cloth) · ru власяни́ца (figuratively: garment worn as act of penance) · mi taratara (figuratively: garment worn as act of penance) · pl tkanina workowa (cloth) · mk зе́бло (cloth) · pa ਤੱਪੜ (cloth) · he שַׂק (cloth) · da sæk (figuratively: garment worn as act of penance) · de Sackleinen (cloth) · pt aniagem (cloth) · hy քուրձ (figuratively: garment worn as act of penance) · gv aanrit-sack (cloth) · ang hǣre (cloth) · ga éadach lín (cloth) · he שַׂק (figuratively: garment worn as act of penance) · bg власеница (figuratively: garment worn as act of penance) · ga éadach saic (cloth) · kw yskar (cloth) · fi säkki (figuratively: garment worn as act of penance) · xcl քուրձ (figuratively: garment worn as act of penance) · ru мешкови́на (cloth) · mk власе́ница (figuratively: garment worn as act of penance) · fr toile à sac (cloth)