mourner
UK[ˈmɔːnə(r)]US[ˈmɔːrnər]
n
A person who attends a funeral, especially a relative or friend of the dead person.
n
A person who feels or expresses deep sorrow or grief, especially for someone who has died.
Morpheme Breakdown
mourn
er
mourn
to grieve
er
person who does
Etymology
The word 'mourner' is built on the Old English verb murnan, which meant "to remember sorrowfully, grieve, be anxious." This verb has deep Proto-Germanic roots (murnaną) and is related to the concept of caring or remembering with sadness. The suffix -er, one of the most productive agent-forming suffixes in English, is appended to create a noun that specifically denotes "one who mourns." Thus, the literal construction "one who grieves" directly and logically leads to its modern meanings: a person expressing grief or one who attends a funeral as a participant in the ritual of sorrow.
Analysis
Structure: mourn (to grieve) + er (person who does)
- mourn: From Old English murnan, meaning "to feel or express sorrow, grieve." It is of Germanic origin.
- er: An English agent noun suffix, from Old English -ere, used to form nouns denoting a person who performs the action of a verb.
Examples
The chief mourner at the service was the widow.
Professional mourners were sometimes hired in ancient cultures to express communal grief.
As a mourner, she found comfort in sharing memories with others who knew the deceased.