sorwe

Middle English

Etymology 1

From the oblique cases of Old English sorg,[1] from Proto-West Germanic *sorgu, from Proto-Germanic *surgō.

Forms with /ɛ/, /œ/ are influenced by Old English *sergian, *seorgian,[2] variants of sorgian (“to commiserate”), while forms with /a/ and the "physical pain" sense are probably due to influence from sory (“sad”).

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈsɔrwə/, /ˈsɔrɔu̯(ə)/, /ˈsɔriu̯(ə)/
  • IPA(key): /ˈzɛrwə/, /ˈzɛriu̯(ə)/, /ˈzœr-/ (Southwest Midland)

Noun

sorwe (plural sorwes or (less common) sorwen)

  1. Sorrow, sadness, or anxiety:
    1. Regret, contrition, or repentance.
    2. An instance or outbreak of sorrow.
      • Chaucer, Troilus and Criseyde Book III, ll.950
        […] ech of yow see others sorwes smerte.
    3. A cause of sorrow; a hardship.
  2. Iniquity, wrongdoing, evil:
    1. Disquiet or resentment; a lack of satisfaction.
    2. Damage; the infliction of harm.
  3. Hardship, misfortune, suffering:
    1. A calamitous event; a trouble.
    2. Physical pain (especially as torture or disease).
    3. The ache of love; lovesickness.
Descendants
  • English: sorrow
  • Middle Scots: sorow, sorrow
References
  1. ^ “sorwe, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 9 March 2018.
  2. ^ Jordan, Richard (1974),  Eugene Crook, transl., Handbook of the Middle English Grammar: Phonology (Janua Linguarum. Series Practica; 218)‎[1], The Hague: Mouton & Co. N.V., →DOI, § 35, page 62.

Etymology 2

Verb

sorwe

  1. alternative form of sorwen
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