mourn 
roneoiiHly, in I'im-icrs' use, for * minimi- (being 
OOnfuged with Ilie K. mining), < OF. tnoiirnr, 
IIIOIII-I-HI-, olilcr miiriii-, in pi. ininirin-.--, iiiiiiirrni-x, 
morufx, hemorrhoids or piles, also the mumps 
and u disease of horses; prob. (like pili-x), 
with ref. to tin' shape of hemorrhoids, < Lj. 
iiKinuii, a mulberry: see imin^. (,'oiifusion 
with OF. nnirl, dentil (as asserted in the quot. 
from Topsell), seems improbable; but there 
may have been confusion with OF. utorre, mu- 
ms of the nose, us used in the name, of a dis- 
ease of horses, les iiuirves de jpetit point, a 
kind of frcn/.io in an horse, during which he 
neither knows any that have tended him, nor 
hears any that come near him" (Cotgrave). 
There seems to have been confusion also with 
iiii>.it; the expression to mose in the chine being 
equivalent to to mourn of the chine: see mose 1 . 
None of the expressions appear in literary use 
except in allusive slang; and their origin was 
appar. never clearly known.] To have a kind 
of malignant glanders : said of a horse, and 
allusively of persons, in the phrase to mourn 
of the chine or uinm-ninu of the chine. Compare 
to mose in the chine (under mose 1 ), and see 
mourner*. 
The Krenche-man saythe ' ' mort de langue, et de eschine 
Mount maladyes sauncu medicine," the mtturnynge of the 
tongue and of the chyne are diseases without medicyne. 
Fitzherbert, Husbandry (1534). 
This word mourning of the chine is a corrupt name bor- 
rowed of the French toong, wherein it is called mote [la- 
ter editions morte] deschien, that is to any, the death of the 
liacke. Because many do hold this opinion, that this dis- 
ease doth consume the marrow of the backe. 
Topsell, quotwl in N. and (J., 7th SIT., III. 184. 
This Louer, fuller of passions than of pence, began (when 
In-' Mitred into the consideration of his owne estate) to 
mourn* nf the chyne, and to hang the lippe. 
Greene, Never too Late. 
mourner 1 (mor'ner), n. 1. One who mourns 
or laments. 
Because man gocth to his long home, and the mourner* 
go about the streets. Eccles. xii. 5. 
2. One employed to attend funerals in a habit 
of mourning. 
And the mourners go home, and take off their hatbands 
and scarves, and give them to tlu-ir wives to make aprons 
of. K B. Ramsay, Hem. of Scottish Life, p. 20. 
3. Anything associated with mourning. 
The mourner-yew and builder-oak were there. 
Dryden, Pal. and Arc., til. 961. 
4. Iii certain localities, at a funeral, one who is 
recognized as belonging to the circle of those 
most afflicted by the death and has a special 
place accordingly. [Colloq.] _ Indian mourner. 
Same as sad-tree. 
mqurner'-'t (mor'ner), n. [< mourn* + -erl; 
with allusion to mourner 1 .] One who has the 
mourning of the chine, [Slang.] 
lie's chin'd, he's chin'd, good man ; he is a mourner. 
Beau, and Ft., Custom of the Country, lit. S. 
mournful (moru'ful), rt. [< mourn 1 + //.] 1. 
Sorrowful ; oppressed with grief. 
The future pious, mournful Fair, . . . 
Shall visit her distlnguish'd Urn. 
Prior, Ode on Death of Queen Mary. 
2. Denoting or expressing mourning or sorrow ; 
exhibiting the appearance of grief: as, mourn- 
ful music ; a mournful aspect. 
Yet cannot she rejoyce, 
Nor frame one warbling note to pass out of her mournfult 
voyce. Gascoignc, Flowers, Lamentation of a Lover. 
Yet seemed she to appease 
Her mournefuU plaintes. 
Spenser, F. Q., I. L 54. 
No funeral rite, nor man in mourning weeds, 
Nor mournful bell shall ring her burial. 
Shale., Tit. And., v. 8. 197. 
3. Causing sorrow ; deplorable; doleful: as, a 
mournful death. =8yn. Lugubrious, doleful, afflictive, 
grievous, lamentable, deplorable, woful, melancholy. 
mournfully (morn'ful-i), adr. In a mournful 
manner; sorrowfully; as one who mourns. 
What profit is it that we have kept his ordinance, and 
that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of hosts? 
Mai. iu. 14. 
Beat thou the drum, that it speak mournfully. 
Shak., Cor., v. 6. 151. 
mournfulness ^orn'ful-nes), n. 1. The con- 
dition of being mournful; sorrow; grief; the 
state of mourning; the quality of sadness. 
2. An appearance or expression of grief. 
mournful-widow (morn'ful-wid'6), n. Same 
as /iiiiiiniiiiii-liriilr. 
mourning 1 (nmr'ning), n. and a. [< ME. mourn- 
1/1111. ilium-Minn, niornyiiii. < AS. murnung, mourn- 
ing, verbal n. of uiurnnn, mourn: see mourn 1 .] 
I. n. 1. The act of lamenting or expressing 
grief; lamentation; sorrow. 
3879 
I . . . ne had al owtte'rly foryeten the wepinge and the 
mournymje that was set in niyii lit-i If. 
Chaucer, Bocthliii, Iv. prose 1. 
But when my mournings I do think upon, 
My wormwood, hemlork, and affliction, 
My soul is humbled in rememb'ring this. 
Donne, Lamentations of Jeremy, ill. 19. 
And at end of day 
They reached the city, and with mournirtg sore 
Toward the king's palace did they take their way. 
William Morru, Earthly Paradise, I. 349. 
2. The outward tokens or signs of sorrow for 
the dead, such as the draping of buildings in 
giving expression to public sorrow, the wear- 
ing of garments of a particular color, the use 
of black-bordered handkerchiefs, black-edged 
writing-paper and visiting-cards, etc. The color 
customarily worn on such occasions differs at different 
times and in different countries: in China and Japan, for 
Instance, white is the mourning color, and basted un- 
hemmed garments the style. At present in Europe and 
America the customary color is black, or black slightly 
relieved with white or purple, black crape playing an im- 
portant part especially in the mourning worn by women. 
Sometimes a distinctive garment, such as the widow's cap, 
Is added. 
No Athenian, through my means, ever put on mourning. 
Lamjhorne, tr. of Plutarch's Pericles. 
And even the pavements were with mourning hid. 
Dryden, Pal. and Arc., HL 942. 
To be in mourning, to be onder the regulations and re- 
straints, as regardsofress, social intercourse, etc., which, 
and for such length of time as, custom or fashion pre- 
scribes on the occasion of the death of a relative or some 
one held in peculiar respect 
II. a. Having to do with mourning for the 
dead; of such kind as is used in mourning for 
the dead: as, a mourning garment; a mourning 
hat-band. 
Six dukes followed after, In black mourning gownds. 
Death of Queen Jane (Child's Ballads, VII. 78). 
mourning'-'t, H. See mourn*. 
mourning-bride (m6r'ning-brid'),M. The sweet 
scabious, Scabiosa atropurpurea : so called when 
its flowers are deep purple or crimson, but they 
are sometimes rose-colored or even white. 
mourning-brooch (mor'uing-brbch), n. A 
brooch of jet or other suitable material, worn 
by women as a sign of mourning. 
mourning-cloak (mor'ning-klok), n. 1. A cloak 
formerly worn by persons following a funeral, 
usually hired from the undertaker. 2. A but- 
terfly, Vanessa antiopa. 
mourning-coach (mor'ning-koch), n. 1. A 
coach used by a person in mourning, black in 
color, and sometimes covered outside as well 
as inside with black cloth, the hammer-cloths 
also being black. 
It was the fashion to use a mourning coach all the time 
mourning was worn, and this rendered it incumbent upon 
people to possess such a vehicle ; consequently they were 
frequently advertised for sale. 
AMon, Social Life in Reign of Queen Anne, II. 176. 
2. A closed carriage used to convey mourners 
on the occasion of a funeral. 
mourning-dove (mor'ning-duv), n. The com- 
mon American or Carolina turtle-dove, Zenai- 
dura caroUnensis : so called from its plaintive 
cooing. See cut under dore. 
mourning-livery (mor'ning-liv'er-i), n. Liv- 
ery worn by men-servants in commemoration 
of the death of a member of a master's family. 
mourningly (mflr'ning-li), adv. In the manner 
of one who mourns. 
The king very lately spoke of him admiringly and 
mourningly. Shot., All's Well, i. 1. 34. 
mourning-piece (mor'ning-pes), n. A picture 
intended MS a memorial of the dead. It repre- 
sents a tomb or an urn inscribed with the name of the de- 
ceased, with weeping-willows, mourners, and other fune- 
real accessories. 
They go to sea, you know, and fall out o' the riggin', or 
get swamped in a gale, or killed by whales, and there 
ain't a house on the island, I expect, but what's got a 
mourning-piece hangin' up in the front room. 
M. ('. l.rr, \ Quaker Girl of Nantucket, p. 48. 
mourning-ring (mor'ning-ring), n. Aringworn 
as a memorialof a deceased person. Such rings 
were commonly inscribed with the name and the dates of 
birth and death of the person commemorated. The cus- 
i "in of wearing them is almost obsolete. 
mourning-Stuff (mor'ning-stuf), n. A luster- 
less black textile material, such as crape, cash- 
mere, or merino, regarded as especially fitted 
for mourning-garments. 
mourning-widow (mor'ning-wid'6), . 1. A 
diisky-petaled geranium of central and western 
Europe, (ieraniitm ph<rum. 2. Same as mourn- 
ing-bride. 
mournivalt, . See murniral. 
mournspine (m6m'sum),. [< mourn 1 + -some.] 
Mournful. [Recent and rare.] 
mouse 
Then there came a mellnw noine, vi-ry low and mourn- 
mane, not a sound to be afraid of. 
J(. D. Blachnare, Lorna Doone, III. 
mouse (mous), . ; pi. mice (mis). [< ME. 1111111.1, 
mx(pl. mi/*, myse, rarely musun). < AS. inii.i (pi. 
niyx) = L>. niiiiti = MLG. mus, LG. mus = OHG. 
MHG. mus, G. maim = Icel. mus = 8w. L)an. IHH.I 
= L. mus (mur-) = Gr. uvf (/if-) = OBulg. n/i/.-i/n 
= Bulg. mixlikii = Serv. misli = Bohem. mush = 
Pol. mys: = Buss. t>iuitthl= Pers. (> Turk. ) imi.ili 
= Skt. (*/!(> Hind. IIHI.--II. mii-i), dim. niii.iliil.-n 
(Pali musiko), a rat, a mouse; prob. 'stealer,' < 
/ mus, Skt. / munh, steal. Hence ult. (< L. 
mus) muscle 1 , miisi-iilur, etc.] 1. A small ro- 
dent quadruped, Mus musculus, of the family 
Muridai : a name extended to very many of the 
nttitfitltti), 
smaller species of the same family, the larger 
ones being usually called rats. Mice proper, be- 
longing to the genus Hut, are Indigenous to the Old 
World only, though .V. musculus has been Introduced 
and naturalized everywhere. The native mice of America 
all belong to a different section of Muridce called Sia- 
modontes, and to such genera as Hesperomus. See cuts 
under deer-mouse, Armcola, and Emtomys. \Moute, like 
'"', enters into many compounds indicating different spe- 
cies or varieties of murines, and many other small quad- 
rupeds, not of the same family, or even of the same 
order : as, harvest-mow^, meadow-mow*-, neld-moiiw. Bee 
these words.) 
Now yif thon saye a maust amonges oother mutui [ var. 
myse] that chalengede to hymself-ward rytit and power 
over alle other myms [var. tny*e], how gret scorn woldis- 
thow nan of It I Chaucer, Boethlus, II. prose 6. 
2. Some animal like or likened to a mouse, as 
a shrew or bat. See shrew-mouse. 
And there ben also Myse als grete as Houndes; and 
zalowe 3lyff als grete as Kavenes. 
MandenOe, Travels, p. 291. 
3. A moth of the family Ampnipyridtr. 4. 
Some little bird : used in composition : as, sea- 
moiuie and sand-moiwe, the dunlin or purre, 
Tringa alpina, a sandpiper. [Local, Eiig.] 
5. A familiar term of endearment. 
Let the bloat king . . . call yon his inoune. 
Shalt., Hamlet, ill. 4. 183. 
6. Naut. : (f) A knob formed on a rope by spun- 
yarn or parceling, to prevent a running eye 
from slipping. (6) Two or three turns of spun- 
yarn or rope-yarn about the point and shank 
of a hook, to keep it from unhooking. Also 
called mousing. 7. A particular piece of beef 
or mutton below the round ; the part immedi- 
ately above the knee-joint. Also called mouse- 
piece and mouse-buttock. 8. A match used in 
blasting. 9. A swelling caused by a blow; a 
black eye. [Slang.] Economist mouse. Seewono- 
miV Hare-tailed mouse. Same as lemming. Lea- 
thern mouse, a bat. Long- tailed mouse, one of the 
Murince, as the common European wood-mouse, Mus tylva- 
ticvt, or the American deer-mouse. Hetprromui leucopui: 
so called in distinction from the short-tailed fleld-mice, 
voles, or ArricuHatr. Pharaoh's mouse. .Same as I'ha- 
raoh'i rat (which see, under rat). 
mouse (mouz), f. ; pret. and pp. moused, ppr. 
mousing, [(.mouse, n.] I. intrans. 1. To hunt 
for or catch mice. 
Your puss, demure and pensive, seems 
Too fat to mnute. F. Locker, My Neighbour Rose. 
2. To watch or pursue something in a sly or in- 
sidious manner. 
A whole assembly of mmaing saints, under the mask of 
zeal and good nature, lay many kingdoms in blood. 
Sir R. L'Eitrange. 
A miiurinii, learned New Hampshire lawyer. 
H. Cabot Lodge, Daniel Webster, p. 107. 
3. To move about softly or cautiously, like a 
cat hunting mice; prowl. 
When we were not on the water, we both liked to mouse 
about the queer streets and quaint old houses of that re- 
gion. T. W. Higyintan, Oldport, p. 62. 
II. trans. 1. To tear as a cat tears a mouse. 
And now he feasts, mmaing the flesh of men. 
Shot., K. John, ii. 1. 354. 
2. To hunt out, as a cat hunts out mice. [Rare.] 
He preached for various country congregations, and usu- 
ally returned laden with boxes and bundles of literary odds 
and ends, motited from rural attics and bought or begged 
for his collection. -VVu- 1'ort Evangelist, Oct. 20, 1804. 
