different between lamentation vs whimper

English

Etymology

Recorded since 1375, from Latin l?ment?ti? (“wailing, moaning, weeping”), from the deponent verb l?mentor, from l?mentum (“wail; wailing”), itself from a Proto-Indo-European *leh?- (“to howl”), presumed ultimately imitative. Replaced Old English cwiþan. Lament is a 16th-century back-formation.

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /?læm.?n?te?.??n/, /?læm.?n?te?.??n/
• Rhymes: -e???n

Noun

lamentation (countable and uncountable, plural lamentations)

1. The act of lamenting.
2. A sorrowful cry; a lament.
3. Specifically, mourning.
4. lamentatio, (part of) a liturgical Bible text (from the book of Job) and its musical settings, usually in the plural; hence, any dirge
5. A group of swans.

Related terms

Translations

References

• Douglas Harper (2001–2021) , “lamentation”, in Online Etymology Dictionary

French

Etymology

From Middle French, from Latin l?ment?ti? (“wailing, moaning, weeping”).

Pronunciation

Noun

lamentation f (plural lamentations)

1. lamentation, loud/ostentatious plaint

Related terms

Further reading

• “lamentation” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Middle French

Etymology

From Latin l?ment?ti? (“wailing, moaning, weeping”).

Noun

lamentation f (plural lamentations)

1. lamentation, loud/ostentatious plaint

English

Etymology

From dialectal whimp (“to whine”) +? -er (frequentative suffix). Compare German wimmern (“to whimper, whine”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?w?mp?(?)/, /???mp?(?)/
• Rhymes: -?mp?(?)

Noun

whimper (plural whimpers)

1. A low intermittent sob.

Translations

Verb

whimper (third-person singular simple present whimpers, present participle whimpering, simple past and past participle whimpered)

1. To cry or sob softly and intermittently.

   The lonely puppy began to whimper as soon as we left the room.

   • 1886, Robert Louis Stevenson, Strange Case Of Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde

     At the sight of Mr. Utterson, the housemaid broke into hysterical whimpering; and the cook, crying out "Bless God! it's Mr. Utterson," ran forward as if to take him in her arms.

2. To cry with a low, whining, broken voice; to whine; to complain.
   • March 22 1549, Hugh Latimer, third sermon preached before King Edward VI

     Was there ever yet preacher but there were gainsayers that spurned, that winced, that whimpered against him?

3. To say something in a whimpering manner.

   "Master, please don't punish me!" he whimpered.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:weep

Derived terms

• whimperative

Translations