weepn.
/wiːp/, U.S. /wip/ a. Weeping, lamentation. to burst a-weep: to burst out weeping. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > sorrow or grief > lamentation or expression of grief > weeping > [noun]
wopOE
reminga1200
weepingc1200
weepc1275
dolec1290
greetinga1300
greeta1325
grota1325
teara1340
tear1377
lachrymation?1530
gree?1567
waterworks1634
pipation1656
fletion1716
piping1779
ploration1828
blarting1898
the mind > emotion > suffering > sorrow or grief > lamentation or expression of grief > weeping > weep [verb (intransitive)] > burst or dissolve into tears
to burst a-weepc1275
distilc1374
still1412
to burst (out, forth) on weeping1564
dissolve1608
to melt to (also in, into) tears1609
to burst into tears1717
burst a-crying1825
blurt1830
to burst out crying1863
to break into weeping1866
to turn the tap(s) on1883
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 5983 Þe iherde þesne weop [cf. wop lines 2978, 7517; c1300 Otho þane cri].
a1300 in Anecd. Lit. (1844) 90 Al the blisse of thisse live Thou shalt, mon, henden in woep.
1303 R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne 5721 For comunlych aftyr wepe, Fal men sone on slepe.
13.. K. Alis. (Laud) 7871 Michel weep, mychel waylying.
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 2328 He..brogte hem bi-for iosep Wid reweli lote and sorwe and wep.
c1374 G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde ii. 408 She bygan to brest a wep a-noon.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) l. 10496 Whil she mened þus hir mone Wiþ wepe [Vesp., Gött. weping; c1460 Laud wepyng] & sorwes mony one.
1512 Helyas in W. J. Thoms Coll. Early Prose Romances (1828) III. 116 The which in weepe piteously bewayled her good spouse.
1545 Primer Kynges Maiestie (STC 16034) sig. C.iii.v Deuout prayer, meynt with wepe, Suffreth not the hart to slepe.
b. A fit or bout of weeping. Also the weeps: a fit of weeping or melancholy. Also transferred.Also in ‘Hence these weeps’, a burlesque alteration of ‘Hence these tears’.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > sorrow or grief > lamentation or expression of grief > weeping > [noun] > fit(s) of weeping
shower1449
lachrymals1753
weep1836
cry1852
blub1894
1836 C. Shaw Let. 9 May Personal Mem. & Corr. (1837) II. 574 I had nothing else for it, but in the middle of the night to go aside and have a very hearty weep by myself.
1876 J. P. Struthers in Life & Lett. (1918) iv. 49 But those days are gone. Hence these weeps.
1886 R. Kipling Mare's Nest in Departm. Ditties 43 There was a scene—a weep or two—With many kisses.
1922 J. Joyce Ulysses ii. xii. [Cyclops] 290 And Bob Doran starts doing the weeps about Paddy Dignam.
1937 ‘G. Orwell’ Let. 31 July in Coll. Ess. (1968) I. 280 I heard from Murry who seemed in the weeps about something.
1982 Medico-Legal Jrnl. 50 10 Leaving his Counsel to do what we call ‘The weeps’, i.e. to plead in mitigation of sentence.
2. An exudation, percolation, or sweating of moisture.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > liquid > liquid which has been emitted > action or process of exuding > [noun] > that which has been exuded
exudation1626
weep1838
exudate1876
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going or coming out > [noun] > exuding > instance of
weep1838
1838 Civil Engineer & Architect's Jrnl. 1 213/2 Weeps which in iron would speedily be stopped by the natural operation of rust, go on in copper indefinitely, working their way like worms in wood.
1891 Cent. Dict. Weep, exudation, sweat, as of a gum-tree.
1901 Oxf. Times 2 Mar. 3/4 The water..did not come by any jets or spouts..but by simple oozes or weeps or whatever term they used to describe what took place.
Compounds
weep-drop n. a spurious compound in N.E.D. (1926) based on an erroneous reading of wete droppes in the 1876 edition of the text cited in quot. 1508.
ΚΠ
1508 J. Fisher Treat. Penyt. Psalmes sig. ll.vi A mannes brethynge whan it toucheth ony thinge yt is colde as yron or glasse, anone it is resolued in to wete droppes of water.]
weep-hole n. an opening through which water percolates or drips.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > liquid > liquid flow > percolation > [noun] > opening through which moisture percolates
weep-hole1851
weeping-hole1866
1851 Colon. Mag. July 8 The water..filters through the red sand, running through ‘weep holes’ made of brick, into a reservoir.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1926; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
weepv.
/wiːp/, U.S. /wip//wɛpt/. Forms: infinitive Old English wœ́pan, wépan, Middle English wepen, ( Orm. -enn), Middle English weopen, Middle English–1500s wepe, (Middle English weape), Middle English wipe, weope, Middle English wep, (Middle English wepyn, wape), Middle English–1700s Scottish weip, 1500s Scottish veip, vepe, 1500s–1600s weepe, (1600s weap), 1600s– weep. past tense Old English wéop, Middle English weop, Middle English weap, wiep, Middle English wep, wop, Middle English wepe, (Middle English weep, wip, Middle English wippe); Middle English wepude, Middle English wepped, Middle English weped, (Middle English wepid, wepet), Middle English–1500s wepit, (Middle English weppit, Middle English wepput, 1500s Scottish weipit, vepit), 1500s–1800s weeped, Middle English– wept. past participle Old English wópen, Middle English wopen, i-wope, Middle English wepen; Middle English wepid, 1700s weeped; Middle English ywept, wepte, 1600s weept, Middle English– wept. I. intransitive.a1616 W. Shakespeare All's Well that ends Well (1623) v. iii. 322 Mine eyes smell Onions, I shall weepe anon. View more context for this quotation] 1616 Withals' Dict. 557 Flere ad nouercæ tumulum, to weepe with an Onion.1882 T. G. Bowles Flotsam & Jetsam 144 Here again is..the Vicomte weeping ruefully over the strongest onion that ever man sliced.
1. a1616 W. Shakespeare Measure for Measure (1623) ii. ii. 125 But man..Plaies such phantastique tricks before high heauen, As makes the Angels weepe. View more context for this quotation] 1859 H. Kingsley Recoll. Geoffry Hamlyn III. ix. 172 To see a young fellow like that..only ripe for the gallows at five-and-twenty, is enough to make the angels weep.1889 ‘J. S. Winter’ Mrs. Bob xii Ye Gods! it is a sight to make the angels weep.
a. To manifest the combination of bodily symptoms (instinctive cries or moans, sobs, and shedding of tears) which is the natural, audible, and visible expression of painful (and sometimes of intensely pleasurable) emotion; also, and in modern use chiefly, to shed tears (more or less silently).In modern English somewhat rare in non-literary use, being superseded by cry; recently a sense of the inappropriateness of that verb as applied to silent manifestations seems to have in some degree revived the colloquial currency of weep in the sense ‘to shed tears’.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > pleasure > joy, gladness, or delight > be joyful or delighted [verb (intransitive)] > manifest joy by weeping
weepc900
weep1297
the mind > emotion > suffering > sorrow or grief > lamentation or expression of grief > weeping > weep [verb (intransitive)]
greetc725
weepc900
tearc950
plore1373
beweepc1374
to put one's finger in one's eye1447
waterc1450
lachryme1490
cryc1532
lerma1533
tricklec1540
to water one's plants1542
to show tears1553
shower1597
issuea1616
lachrymate1623
sheda1632
pipe1671
to take a pipe1671
to pipe one's eye (also eyes)?1789
twine1805
to let fall1816
whinnya1825
blub1866
slobber1875
blart1896
skrike1904
water-cart1914
the mind > emotion > suffering > sorrow or grief > lamentation or expression of grief > weeping > weep for [verb (transitive)] > shed (tears)
weepc900
shedc1175
greetc1300
fallc1475
raina1560
blubber1583
vent1632
to let fall1816
to turn on the main1836
c900 tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (1890) iii. xiv. 198 He ongon wepan hluttrum tearum.
c1000 West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) xxvi. 75 And he eode ut & weop [L. ploravit] bityrlice.
c1175 Lamb. Hom. 43 Nu bi-gon paul to wepen wunderliche, and mihhal heh engel þer weop forð mid him.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 9429 Þæ æremite gon to weopen.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 3315 Þer Elidur þe king weop [c1300 Otho wep] mid his eȝenen.
1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. 6924 Þe quene wepinde [v.r. wepude] wel sore, þe king ansuerede þis.
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 93 Ne þet ne is naȝt lyf of man ac of child þet nou wepþ nou lheȝþ.
138. J. Wyclif Serm. in Sel. Wks. II. 249 Þei shulden..wipe wiþ men þat wepen here.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 14023 Þis womman [Mary Magdalene] wepand on his fete.
c1405 (c1387–95) G. Chaucer Canterbury Tales Prol. (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 144 She was..so pitous She wolde wepe if þt she sawe a Mous Caught in a trappe, if it weere deed or bledde.
c1425 Seven Sag. (P.) 570 Scho wippe and hir hondis wronge.
a1500 (?c1450) Merlin ii. 30 And a-noon this othir [child] be-gan to crye and wape.
1570 in J. Cranstoun Satirical Poems Reformation (1891) I. xiii. 150 The tyme sall cum that he sall weip and murne.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Othello (1622) iv. i. 136 She..So hangs, and lolls, and weepes vpon me.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) iii. i. 74 I am a foole To weepe at what I am glad of. View more context for this quotation
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost xi. 495 Sight so deform what heart of Rock could long Drie-ey'd behold? Adam could not, but wept . View more context for this quotation
1700 J. Dryden tr. G. Boccaccio Sigismonda & Guiscardo in Fables 145 Away, with Women weep, and leave me here, Fix'd, like a Man to die, without a Tear.
1782 F. Burney Cecilia II. iv. v. 177 Mrs. Harrel..had shut herself up in her own room to weep and lament.
1850 Ld. Tennyson In Memoriam xxx. 49 ‘They rest,’ we said,..And silence follow'd, and we wept . View more context for this quotation
1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps i. xxv. 191 I could have wept like a child.
b. said of animals.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > by habits or actions > habits and actions > [verb (intransitive)] > weep
weepc1400
c1400 Mandeville's Trav. (1919) xxxii. 192 Þeise serpentes [sc. crocodiles] slen men & þei eten hem wepynge.
1603 W. Shakespeare Hamlet iii. ii. 259 Let the stricken deere goe weepe.
1612 J. Webster White Divel D 3 Here is a Stag my Lord hath shed his hornes, And for the losse of them the poore beast weepes.
1872 C. Darwin Expression Emotions Man & Animals vi. 167 The Indian elephant is known sometimes to weep.
1875 B. Jowett tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) V. 361 Man..is..affected with the inclination to weep more than any other animal.
c. Const. for, over, †on (a person or thing regretted or commiserated).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > sorrow or grief > lamentation or expression of grief > weeping > weep for [verb (transitive)]
weepa900
greetOE
beweepc1000
begredec1300
overweep1844
blart1896
a900 Old Eng. Martyrol. 30 July 132 Þa weop eall Romana dugoð for þære dæde.
c950 Lindisf. Gosp. Luke xxiii. 28 Nallað ȝie woepa ofer mec [L. super me] ah ofer iuh seolfo woepað.
c1175 Lamb. Hom. 157 He iseh Martham and Mariam Magdalene þe sustren wepe for hore broðer deð.
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 232 He weop oðe rode. o lazre. on Ierusalem.
a1300 Cursor Mundi 1799 For þar misdedes wepe þai þan.
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 4149 .xxx. daiges wep israel For his dead.
c1374 G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (1868) ii. pr. ii. 35 Paulus..whan he hadde take þe kyng of perciens weep pitously for þe captiuitee of þe self kyng.
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Luke xix. 41 He seynge the citee, wepte on it [L. flevit super illam].
a1450 Mirk's Festial 32 Þen for Ion segh mony wepe for hyr, Ion sayde to hyr: Drusyan, ryse vp.
c1550 Complaynt Scotl. (1979) iii. 20 The prophet hieremye vepit for the stait of the public veil of babillone.
1597 W. Shakespeare Richard II v. i. 87 Weepe thou for me in Fraunce, I for thee heere. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare All's Well that ends Well (1623) i. i. 3 And I in going Madam, weep ore my fathers death anew. View more context for this quotation
1623 H. Cockeram Eng. Dict. iii. at Crocodile Hauing eaten the body of a man, it [sc. a crocodile] will weepe ouer the head, but in fine eate the head also.
1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 70. ¶8 Instead of weeping over the Wound she had received, as one might have expected from a Warriour of her Sex.
1803 M. G. Lewis Sir Agilthorne liv They who can weep for others' woes, Should ne'er have cause to weep their own.
1827 T. Carlyle Richter in Edinb. Rev. June 194 Like him, we have long laughed at them or wept for them.
1842 Ld. Tennyson Two Voices in Poems (new ed.) II. 126 In some good cause,..To perish, wept for, honour'd, known.
1853 C. Dickens Bleak House lv. 532 I knew by that time..how you had mourned for me, and wept for me.
1855 Ld. Tennyson Maud viii, in Maud & Other Poems 32 An angel watching an urn Wept over her, carved in stone.
d. Const. for (the emotion that prompts weeping). Similarly with to and infinitive, or a that-clause.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > pleasure > joy, gladness, or delight > be joyful or delighted [verb (intransitive)] > manifest joy by weeping
weepc900
weep1297
the mind > emotion > suffering > sorrow or grief > lamentation or expression of grief > weeping > weep for [verb (transitive)] > weep for (an emotion)
weep1297
1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) 6954 Þe bissopes þat hir ladde vor ioye wepe al so.
a1352 L. Minot Poems xi. 12 For wo will he wepe.
c1420 Anturs of Arthur (Douce) 560 Thus wepus for wo Wowayne þe wighte.
1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) xx. 237 Thar wes nane in that Cumpany That thai ne wepit for pite.
1597 W. Shakespeare Richard II iii. ii. 4 I weepe for ioy, To stand vpon my kingdome once againe. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Two Gentlemen of Verona (1623) ii. iii. 11 A Iew would haue wept to haue seene our parting. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 2 (1623) iii. ii. 121 Henry weepes, that thou dost liue so long. View more context for this quotation
1648 R. Herrick Hesperides sig. K8v Faire Daffadills, we weep to see You haste away so soone.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ix. 991 So saying, she embrac'd him, and for joy Tenderly wept . View more context for this quotation
1785 W. Cowper Task vi. 700 Maidens wave Their 'kerchiefs, and old women weep for joy.
a1806 H. K. White Remains (1807) II. 131 I start, and when the vision's flown, I weep that I am all alone.
1865 A. C. Swinburne Chastelard iii. i. 104 I have wept for wrath Sometimes and for mere pain, but for love's pity I cannot weep at all.
e. To call †on, cry or pray to with weeping. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > request > make a request [verb (intransitive)] > tearfully
weep1297
greet1562
1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) 7822 He wep on god vaste ynou & criede him milce & ore.
c1460 Merita Missæ 105 in Lay Folks Mass Bk. 151 And how he dide for the weop To his fader on olywete.
1560 Bible (Geneva) Num. xi. 13 For they wepe vnto me, saying, Giue vs flesh that we may eat.
1845 C. Norton Child of Islands 43 Then sweet St. Mary stands in her recess, Worshipped and wept to, as a thing divine.
f. to weep one's fill or bellyful.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > sorrow or grief > lamentation or expression of grief > weeping > weep [verb (intransitive)] > copiously
to weep one's fill or bellyfula1290
to weep out one's eyes heartc1290
forweepa1375
to weep full a streeta1413
to cry (also weep, etc.) one's eyes outa1450
bawl1605
cry1705
to cry (also sob, weep, etc.) one's heart out1732
a1290 S. Eustace 193 in Horstm. Altengl. Leg. (1881) 215 Ich habbe I-wopen al mine fille.
1548 N. Udall et al. tr. Erasmus John in Paraphr. New Test. (1623) xi. 28–31 They folowed hir: suspectyng that..she woulde haue gooen to the graue, and there to wepe hir belly full.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 3 (1623) ii. v. 113 Ile beare thee hence, where I may weepe my fill . View more context for this quotation
g. Proverbial expressions.
ΚΠ
1546 J. Heywood Dialogue Prouerbes Eng. Tongue i. xi. sig. Diiiv Nay good childe, better childern wepe than old men.
1616 T. Draxe Bibliotheca Scholastica 23 It is better that children weepe, then old men.
2. Phrases. †to weep Irish: to weep unfeelingly, as a professional mourner weeps at an Irish wake. to weep with (or over) an onion: figurative to weep with feigned grief.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > dissimulation, pretence > insincerity > grieve insincerely [verb (intransitive)]
to weep Irish1577
to weep with (or over) an onion1577
snivel1691
1577 R. Stanyhurst Treat. Descr. Irelande viii. f. 28/1, in R. Holinshed Chron. I They follow the dead corpes to the graue with howlyng and barbarous outcries, pitiful in apparaunce, wherof grew, as I suppose, the prouerbe, to weepe Irish [L. Hibernice lacrimari].
1589 J. Lyly Pappe with Hatchet D iv b Ile make thee to forget Bishops English, and weep Irish.
1650 T. Fuller Pisgah-sight of Palestine ii. xii. 247 Surely the Egyptians did not weep-Irish with faigned and mercenary teares.
1681 W. Robertson Phraseologia generalis (1693) 1305 To weep Irish, or to feign sorrow.
3.
a. Of the eyes: To shed tears.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > sorrow or grief > lamentation or expression of grief > weeping > weep [verb (intransitive)] > shed tears (of the eyes)
tearc1000
weep1567
wail1594
to well up1848
well1859
fill1871
to tear up1941
1567 Compend. Bk. Godly Songs (1897) 16 And wowis vaine, quhilk thay did neuer keip, Sall gar thame gnasche thair teith, & eyis weip.
1594 W. Shakespeare Titus Andronicus iii. i. 58 Titus, prepare thy aged eies to weepe . View more context for this quotation
1780 W. Cowper Boadicea iii Princess! if our aged eyes Weep upon thy matchless wrongs, 'Tis because [etc.].
1810 W. Scott Lady of Lake ii. 73 'Twas an hero's eye that weep'd.
1847 W. M. Thackeray Vanity Fair (1848) viii. 68 Her eyes are always weeping for the loss of her beauty.
1871 R. Ellis tr. Catullus Poems lxi. 85 Her innocent Eyes do weep to be going.
b. figurative of the heart. (Cf. 7b).
ΚΠ
13.. Adam Davy's 5 Dreams 64 Myne herte wop for grete drede.
1550 R. Crowley One & Thyrtye Epigrammes sig. Avii The other sorte..Do make my harte wepe whan they come to my mind.
1623 W. Shakespeare & J. Fletcher Henry VIII iii. ii. 336 My heart weepes to see him So little, of his great Selfe. View more context for this quotation
1796 Let. to Cowper in Jrnl. Friends Hist. Soc. (1918) 32 My heart wept for thee..with the tenderest solicitude for thy welfare.
4. transferred.figurative.1847 Ld. Tennyson Princess vi. 134 Down thro' her limbs a drooping languor wept.1872 Ld. Tennyson Gareth & Lynette 15 Barefoot.., The Lady of the Lake stood: all her dress Wept from her sides as water flowing away.
a. Of things: To shed water or moisture in drops; to exude drops of water. Also, to waste away in drops.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > liquid > liquid which has been emitted > emit liquid [verb (intransitive)] > drops
stilla1300
weep1387
tricklec1540
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going or coming out > letting or sending out > let or send out [verb (intransitive)] > be emitted > exude
sweatc893
weep1387
oozea1398
evaporate1799
swelter1834
1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. IV. 3 The preost.. seide þat þere come nevere reyn..; but the trees hadde i-wope in þe eclipses of þe sonne and of þe moone.
c1400 Mandeville's Trav. (1839) vii. 78 And there besyde ben 4 Pileres of Ston, that alle weys droppen Watre: and sum men seyn, that thei wepen for our Lordes Dethe.
c1440 Pallad. on Husb. ix. 75 Clayes wepe Vncerteynly, whos teres beth right swete.
1570 in J. Cranstoun Satirical Poems Reformation (1891) I. xv. 1 Ȝe Montaines, murne; ȝe valayis, vepe.
1603 G. Owen Descr. Penbrokshire (1891) 78 In these buildinges you shall finde..all the walles of the house to be all weapinge and covered with streames of water.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Timon of Athens (1623) ii. ii. 156 When all our Offices haue beene opprest With riotous Feeders, when our Vaults haue wept With drunken spilth of Wine. View more context for this quotation
1698 J. Fryer New Acct. E.-India & Persia 126 I saw..Women..waiting the distilling of Water from its [the tank's] dewy sides; which they catch in Jarrs, and..carrying it away, leave it only weeping.
a1722 E. Lisle Observ. Husbandry (1757) 23 If you lay dung on a sandy or rocky ground..it will be weeping away.
1732 P. Miller Gardener's Kal. (1762) 280 Where..resinous trees..require some of their branches to be cut off, this is the best season..for now they are not so subject to weep.
1810 W. Scott Lady of Lake i. 43 The birch-trees wept in fragrant balm.
1854 J. S. C. Abbott Napoleon (1855) II. xxvii. 501 The sky ceased to weep, and the vail of clouds was withdrawn.
1909 Eng. Rev. Mar. 617 Within the forest nought weeps save the rain.
1930 Notes & Queries 16 Aug. 124/2 A cheese itself is sick when it has been over soured or over acidulated, and in time ‘weeps’, gradually becoming soft inside.
b. To issue in drops; to trickle or fall as tears. Also with out.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going or coming out > go or come out [verb (intransitive)] > in drops or trickles
trinkle1513
trickle1526
slaver1582
strain1590
weep1600
exstill1657
treacle1899
1600 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 iv. iii. 58 The bloud weepes from my heart when I do shape [etc.] . View more context for this quotation
1737 S. Berington Mem. G. di Lucca 183 Gold..comes out oftentimes in great lumps from the Mineral Rocks, as if it wept out from between the joints.
1828 J. M. Spearman Brit. Gunner 340 The water will continue to weep or run from the holes.
1884 Manch. Examiner 3 May 5/3 There would evidently have been some difficulty in keeping the tunnel clear of water, which ‘wept’ into the heading at the rate of 447 gallons a minute.
c. Of a boiler, etc.: To allow small drops of water to percolate or trickle through; to leak in drops from a joint or rivet.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going or coming out > letting or sending out > let or send out [verb (intransitive)] > let out through a leak
leak1530
weep1869
1869 E. J. Reed Shipbuilding i. 11 Every rivet being tested not one of them was found to weep.
1869 Daily News 21 Aug. Nearly all new boilers ‘weep’ for the first few weeks.
1886 R. C. Leslie Sea-painter's Log 31 He will admit, ‘she veeps a trifle in her garboards’.
d. Of a sore, etc.: To exude a serous fluid.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > discharge or flux > discharge [verb (intransitive)] > discharge watery fluid
to run on water?1523
to run on water1566
weep1882
1882 W. Worc. Gloss. Weep, to run as a sore does.
1899 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. VII. 243 The fluid escapes just as any raw surface weeps.
1899 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. VIII. 559 It [i.e. psoriasis] never weeps.
e. Of certain explosives: to exude liquid (indicative of a dangerous condition).
ΚΠ
1972 Guardian 9 Feb. 6/8 The freighter Autolycus..was ordered to leave the harbour..after her cargo of nitro~glycerine was found to be ‘weeping’.
1978 C. Egleton Mills Bomb ix. 91 Gelignite... Dangerous? Only if they were handling jelly that was beginning to weep.
1982 Times 6 Jan. 7/7 Stirring the loyalists up was like..playing with jelly that had been weeping for two years.
5. To hang limply; to droop. Of a tree: To droop its branches. Cf. weeping adj. 6.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > support > hanging or suspension > hang or be suspended [verb (intransitive)] > hang down > droop or hang limply
droopa1400
dreepc1430
amortize1480
lop1578
weep1764
1764 C. Churchill Gotham i. 14 The Willow weeping o'er the fatal wave, Where many a Lover finds a watry grave.
1830 Ld. Tennyson Dying Swan in Poems 102 One willow over the river wept.
1872 D. Oliver Lessons Elem. Bot. (new ed.) ii. 207 Young plants, raised from seeds of the Weeping Ash.., had a tendency to ‘weep’ in their first branching.
II. transitive.figurative.1633 G. Herbert Temple: Sacred Poems 80 Sweet day,..The dew shall weep thy fall to night; For thou must die.
6. To shed tears over; to lament with tears.
ΚΠ
c897 K. Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care x. 61 Ðæt ðætte oðre menn unaliefedes dot he sceal wepan sua sua his agne scylde.
c1000 Ælfric Genesis xxxvii. 34 He..weop his sunu lange tide.
a1122 Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) ann. 1086 Oððe hwa is swa heard heort þæt ne mæg swylces ungelimpes?
a1300 Cursor Mundi 1357 Þi fader sin now wepes he.
c1330 R. Mannyng Chron. Wace (Rolls) 2928 Sche wepede weddyng,..ffor scheo had loued longe byfore þe kyng of Denmark.
1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. VIII. 95 Þe monkes come unneþe at þe laste, whan þey had longe i-wope [v.r. ywept] þe wrong of her violent out puttynge.
1530 Myroure Oure Ladye (Fawkes) (1873) i. 32 Many..by swetenes of the songe, ar styrred to wayle and to wepe theyr synnes.
1605 B. Jonson Sejanus v. i. 881 Now they 'gin to weepe The mischiefe they haue done. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 2 (1623) iii. i. 221 His fortunes I will weepe . View more context for this quotation
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Æneis ix, in tr. Virgil Wks. 483 Nor was I near to close his dying Eyes, To wash his Wounds, to weep his Obsequies.
c1726 R. Savage Epist. to Dyer 54 My sympathizing breast his grief can feel, And my eye weep the wound I cannot heal.
1790 W. Cowper Castaway ix No poet wept him: but the page Of narrative sincere..Is wet with Anson's tear.
1808 W. Scott Marmion v. xvi. 266 A child will weep a bramble's smart.
1825 W. Scott Talisman iv, in Tales Crusaders IV. 63 Edith, for whom he dies, will know how to weep his memory.
1847 Ld. Tennyson Princess iv. 68 Nor is it Wiser to weep a true occasion gone.
1860 C. Reade Cloister & Hearth (1896) lxxii. 209 The princess went barefoot to Loretto, weeping her crime and washing the feet of base born men.
7. † c. to weep millstones: cf. millstone n. 2b.
a. To let fall from the eyes, to shed (tears).The object is frequently expressed by a synonym, as water, drop, brine, or a hyperbolic term, as flood, sea, rain, etc. to weep crocodile tears: to feign grief (see crocodile n. 2).
ΚΠ
c1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 65 Þat þridde þing..is wop þe we for ure synnes wepeð.
c1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 149 Swiche teares wiep þe holie spuse uppen hire spus.
1362 W. Langland Piers Plowman A. v. 44 Þenne Ron Repentaunce and Rehersed þis teeme, And made William to weope watur with his eȝen.
c1374 G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde i. 941 Sithen þat þow hast wopen [v.r. wepen] many a drope.
1598 W. Shakespeare Love's Labour's Lost iv. iii. 31 Thou shinst in euerie teare that I do weepe . View more context for this quotation
1609 W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida iii. ii. 75 When wee vow to weepe seas. View more context for this quotation
a1625 W. Shakespeare & J. Fletcher Two Noble Kinsmen (1634) i. iii. 22 Women That have sod their Infants in..The brine, they wept at killing 'em. View more context for this quotation
1645 J. Milton Epit. Marchioness of Winchester in Poems 25 Here be tears of perfect moan Weept for thee in Helicon.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost i. 620 Tears such as Angels weep, burst forth. View more context for this quotation
1782 W. Cowper Hope in Poems 167 The wretch..Has wept a silent flood, revers'd his ways, Is sober, [etc.].
1820 J. Keats Lamia ii, in Lamia & Other Poems 31 She..wept a rain Of sorrows at his words.
1853 E. C. Gaskell Ruth III. i. 14 All tears had been wept out of her long ago.
1891 F. W. Farrar Darkness & Dawn I. xxix. 267 The eyes of Nero had to weep crocodile tears.
b. figurative. Of the heart, or a wound: to weep (tears of) blood.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > injury > injure [verb (intransitive)] > be injured > be wounded > shed blood
bleeda1300
to weep (tears of) blood1593
to bleed white1854
1593 W. Shakespeare Venus & Adonis sig. Giij His soft flanke, whose wonted lillie white With purple tears that his wound wept, had drencht. View more context for this quotation
1607 B. Jonson Volpone iii. ii. sig. F4v My heart Weepes bloud, in anguish. View more context for this quotation
1613 W. Browne Britannia's Pastorals I. iii. 49 His wound (yet sore) That grieu'd, it could weepe bloud for him no more.
a1634 G. Chapman Revenge for Honour (1654) iv. i. 48 My heart weeps tears of blood, to see thy age thus like a lofty pine fall.
1718 A. Pope tr. Homer Iliad IV. xiii. 160 My Heart weeps blood to see your Glory lost!
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > absence of emotion > lack sensitivity [verb (intransitive)] > be callous or hard-hearted
to weep millstones1597
1597 W. Shakespeare Richard III i. iv. 234 Clar. Bid Glocester thinke of this, and he will weepe. Am. I, milstones as he lessond vs to weepe.
d. To declare, express, utter with lamentation. Also with forth. rare (chiefly poetic).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > sorrow or grief > lamentation or expression of grief > lament or express grief for [verb (transitive)] > utter in lamenting manner
complainc1385
weep1602
mourn1607
passion1844
1602 J. Marston Hist. Antonio & Mellida v. sig. H3 Ile weepe my passion to the senselesse trees.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Winter's Tale (1623) iv. iv. 548 Leontes opening his free Armes, and weeping His Welcomes forth. View more context for this quotation
1621 M. Wroth Countesse of Mountgomeries Urania 347 Both chain'd togeather..complaining and weeping their sorrowes to those walles.
1782 F. Burney Cecilia II. iii. iv. 51 The poor woman wept her thanks.
1790 W. Cowper On Receipt Mother's Picture 31 I..drew A long, long sigh, and wept a last adieu!
1847 Ld. Tennyson Princess iii. 47 ‘My fault’ she wept ‘my fault! and yet not mine.’
8. quasi-transitive with adverb or complement.
a. in phrases expressing excessive or prolonged weeping; esp. to weep out one's eyes heart and to weep one's heart out (see heart n., int., and adv. Phrases 6c(b)).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > sorrow or grief > lamentation or expression of grief > weeping > weep [verb (intransitive)] > copiously
to weep one's fill or bellyfula1290
to weep out one's eyes heartc1290
forweepa1375
to weep full a streeta1413
to cry (also weep, etc.) one's eyes outa1450
bawl1605
cry1705
to cry (also sob, weep, etc.) one's heart out1732
c1290 St. Lawrence 40 in S. Eng. Leg. 341 That hadde so much i-wope That he weop out both is eiyene.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Julius Caesar (1623) iv. ii. 153 O I could weepe My Spirit from mine eyes. View more context for this quotation
1630 Pathomachia v. iv. 44 I haue wept out mine Eyes for Griefe, I cannot read.
1688 M. Prior Ode Exod. iii. 14 viii Weep out thy Reason's, and thy Body's Eyes.
1887 F. M. Crawford Saracinesca vi It seemed unspeakably pathetic to hear her weeping her heart out.
b. To bring (oneself, another, etc., into a specified state or condition) by weeping. Const. into, to, or with adjective complement.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > sorrow or grief > lamentation or expression of grief > weeping > weep for [verb (transitive)] > bring into state by weeping
weepa1616
a1616 W. Shakespeare Two Gentlemen of Verona (1623) ii. iii. 13 Why my Grandam hauing no eyes, looke you, wept her selfe blinde at my parting. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) iv. iii. 2 Let vs seeke out some desolate shade, & there Weepe our sad bosomes empty. View more context for this quotation
1647 R. Stapleton tr. Juvenal Sixteen Satyrs 108 Weeping her selfe into a stone fountaine.
1650 J. Trapp Clavis to Bible (Gen. l. 1) 383 And Joseph fell upon his fathers face. As willing to have wept him alive again, if possible.
1819 P. B. Shelley Rosalind & Helen 21 But now—'twas the season fair and mild When April has wept itself into May.
1850 Ld. Tennyson Princess (ed. 3) iv. 77 She wept her true eyes blind for such a one.
1891 Temple Bar Dec. 600 Phil wept herself to sleep in her sister's arms.
c. with adverbs to weep (a thing) back: to recover it by weeping. to weep out: to remove, put out, extinguish, by weeping; also, to expend (one's life) in weeping. to weep down: to weep until the setting of (the sun).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > acquisition > obtain or acquire [verb (transitive)] > again or back > by weeping
weep1597
the mind > emotion > suffering > sorrow or grief > lamentation or expression of grief > weeping > weep for [verb (transitive)] > put out or down by weeping
to weep out1597
to weep down1726
the mind > emotion > suffering > sorrow or grief > lamentation or expression of grief > weeping > weep for [verb (transitive)] > spend or consume in weeping
tear1575
to weep out1597
to weep away1602
1597 W. Shakespeare Richard II v. i. 48 The senslesse brands will simpathize The heauy accent of thy moouing tong, And in compassion weepe the fire out. View more context for this quotation
1606 G. Chapman Monsieur D'Oliue i. i He like a mortified hermit clad, Sits weeping out his life.
a1616 W. Shakespeare King John (1623) iv. iii. 105 I lou'd him, and will weepe My date of life out, for his sweete liues losse. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Antony & Cleopatra (1623) ii. vi. 107 Men. Pompey doth this day laugh away his Fortune. Enob. If he do, sure he cannot weep't backe againe. View more context for this quotation
1681 J. Flavell Method of Grace xxvi. 453 As it is with the eye when any thing offends it, it cannot leave twinkling and watering till it have wept it out.
1726 A. Pope tr. Homer Odyssey V. xxi. 240 Thus had their joy wept down the setting sun.
d. esp. to weep away: (a) to spend, consume in tears and lamentation; (b) to remove or wash away with tears of commiseration. (Said also of the tears.)
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > compassion > feel pity for [verb (transitive)] > wash away with tears of
to weep away1602
the mind > emotion > suffering > sorrow or grief > lamentation or expression of grief > weeping > weep for [verb (transitive)] > spend or consume in weeping
tear1575
to weep out1597
to weep away1602
(a)
(b)1762 L. Sterne Life Tristram Shandy V. iii. 23 My father managed his affliction otherwise;..he neither wept it away, as the Hebrews and the Romans—or slept it off.1823 R. C. Praed Austral. Life 262 And the mild Charity which day by day Weeps every wound and every stain away.1602 J. Marston Antonios Reuenge v. vi. sig. K4 Ile weepe away my braine In true affections teares.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Comedy of Errors (1623) ii. i. 114 Since that my beautie cannot please his eie, Ile weepe (what's left away) and weeping die. View more context for this quotation
1705 J. Addison Remarks Italy 2 Mary Magdalene..is said to have wept away the rest of her Life among these solitary Rocks.
1859 Ld. Tennyson Vivien in Idylls of King 140 Nothing left But into some low cave to crawl, and there..weep my life away.
9. To shed (moisture or water) in drops; to exude (a liquid, etc.). Also to weep forth.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > liquid > liquid which has been emitted > emit [verb (transitive)] > in drops
weep1634
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going or coming out > letting or sending out > let or send out [verb (transitive)] > emit > emit by exudation
sweat?c1225
oozea1398
distilc1400
constilc1430
degout?1504
stilla1530
spew1570
filter1582
deplore1601
evaporate1611
weep1634
collachrymate1657
elacrymate1657
exudate1671
exude17..
exstill1819
1634 T. Herbert Relation Some Yeares Trauaile 47 Ormus Iland, has no fresh water, saue what the fruitfull Cloudes weepe ouer her, in sorrow of her desolation.
1651 N. Biggs Matæotechnia Medicinæ Praxeωs ⁋79 Celandin weepeth a golden juice.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost iv. 248 Groves whose rich Trees wept odorous Gumms and Balme. View more context for this quotation
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ix. 1003 Skie lowr'd, and muttering Thunder, som sad drops Wept at compleating of the mortal Sin. View more context for this quotation
1669 W. Simpson Hydrologia Chymica 328 Cut a vine in January..you shall find it weep forth a deal of insipid water.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Pastorals iv, in tr. Virgil Wks. 18 The knotted Oaks shall show'rs of Honey weep.
1709 A. Pope Spring in Poet. Misc.: 6th Pt. 727 And Trees weep Amber on the banks of Po.
1810 W. Scott Lady of Lake iii. 108 Forgetful that its branches grew Where weep the heavens their holiest dew On Alpine's dwelling low.
1860 Ld. Tennyson Tithonus in Cornhill Mag. Feb. 175 The vapours weep their burthen to the ground.
1870 Edinb. Med. Jrnl. (1871) 16 i. 514 The surface of the..integument had been weeping a bloody sanies for three days.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1926; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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