Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “mourn” come from?

Mourn comes from Middle English mornen, from Old English murnan, from Proto-Germanic murnaną, from Proto-Indo-European (s)mer-.

mourn (English): To express sadness or sorrow for; to grieve over;...

Definitions

  1. To express sadness or sorrow for; to grieve over;...

Ancestry of “mourn”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishmornen—
2Old Englishmurnanto care for, worry about; to be sorrowful, to...
3Proto-Germanicmurnanąto feel sorrow or grief; to mourn
4Proto-Indo-European(s)mer-to fall into thinking, remember, care for; to...

Words derived from “mourn”

  • mournful
  • mournfully
  • mourner
  • mournfulness
  • morne
  • mourneth
  • mournest
  • mournfuller
  • unmournful
  • mournsome
Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)mer- →