DictionarykeenMourning cry
verb / noun

keen

Loud wailing in grief.

The mourners keen beside the grave.

Etymology

The Irish word names lamenting or weeping. English adopted keen for the prolonged, audible mourning associated with grief and funeral lament.

More examples

  • A long keen rose from the gathering.
  • She keened for the family she had lost.
  • The account described the women keening at the funeral.

Forms

keen · keens · keened · keening

Similar words

wail
The broader prolonged cry of grief.
lament
Express sorrow, not necessarily loudly.