mourning definition - Dictionary

Dictionary

mourn·ing [ máwrning ]

noun

Definition:

1. show of sadness at somebody's death: the feeling or showing of deep sadness following somebody's death

was still in mourning over the death of her mother

2. clothing for somebody who is mourning: clothing worn as a sign of sorrow following somebody's death, e.g. black clothes in Christian cultures

wore mourning for a year

3. period of sadness: the period during which somebody's death is mourned

The family observed a period of 40 days' mourning.

mourn·ing·ly adverb

Cultural Note


	Mourning Becomes Electra, a play (1931) by Eugene O'Neill. This drama in thirteen acts, lasting six hours, is a somewhat Freudian reworking of the Oresteia trilogy by the Greek author Aeschylus. Set in New England during the Civil War (O'Neill's equivalent of the Trojan Wars), it portrays Lavinia Brant's attempts to avenge her mother's infidelity by turning the rest of the family against her.