sorweful

• sorewful, sorghful, sorowful, soruful, sorwful
• seorhful, seoruhful, sorchful, sorehful, sorhful (Early Middle English); serrhfull (Ormulum)
• sorefull, soreuful, sorȝfol, sorofull, sorowfull, sorwefol, sorwfulle (Late Middle English)
• zorȝvol (Kent); sereuhful, sorful (Northern)
• sorþfol (Southern); sereuful, serful, serwȝful, serwhful (Southwest Midland)

Inherited from Old English sorhful; by surface analysis, sorwe (“sorrow, suffering”) +‎ -ful (“-ful”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈsɔrwəful/, /ˈsɔrɔu̯ful/, /ˈsɔr(ə)ful/
• IPA^(key): /ˈzɔrxvul/ (Kent)
• IPA^(key): /ˈzɛriu̯vul/, /ˈzɛrvul/ (Southwest Midland)

sorweful

1. Sorrowful, sad, distressed:
   • late 14th century, Geoffrey Chaucer, The Knight's Tale, The Canterbury Tales, line 1070-1073:

     This sorweful prisoner, this Palamoun,
     Goth in the chambre, roming to and fro,
     And to him-self compleyning of his wo;
     That he was born, ful ofte he seyde, ‘alas!’

     This sorrowful prisoner, this Palamon,
     Goes in the chamber roaming to and fro,
     And to himself lamenting his woe;
     That he was born, full often he said, ‘alas!’

   1. Distressing; inducing sadness.
   2. Contrite, repentant; having regret.
   3. Suffering, miserable, troubled; beset with woe.
2. Painful, intolerable; hard to endure (especially from physical pain)
3. Irate, angered (especially from envy)
4. Evil, detestable; of low morals.

• English: sorrowful
• Middle Scots: sorowfull, sorrowfull
  • Scots: sorrafu

• “sorweful, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.