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# bewail

verb (bewail, bewails, bewailed, bewailing) (old use or formal)

«bewail» in the English dictionary: everyday and in Jewish tradition — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

To bewail something is to cry or complain loudly and sadly about a loss or misfortune. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bewail/#m1)

### In the lessons

in fairy tales a character bewails a loss, such as a robbery or a lost friend.

### Examples

- The Mule bewailed his misfortunes. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bewail/#x1)
- On discovering the theft, he beat his breast and bewailed his loss. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bewail/#x2)
- The children bewailed the end of their holiday. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bewail/#x3)

### Note

nothing for maths

## In Jewish tradition

To weep over a loss. Jephthah's daughter goes to the mountains with her friends to bewail her virginity, meaning that she would never marry.

**Interpretation.** Mourning is a recognized duty in Jewish law, and the word is used for grieving over the dead. The tradition tells of the daughter's sorrow, and the story is remembered with sadness.

### Examples

- And he said: 'Go.' And he sent her away for two months; and she departed, she and her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains. (Prophets JDG.11.38, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/B/bewail/#x1)
- And she said unto her father: 'Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may depart and go down upon the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my companions.' (Prophets JDG.11.37, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/B/bewail/#x2)

### Note

nothing for maths

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «bewail» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bewail/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«bewail» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/bewail.html) on Mova free.
- [Trees and pragmatics of «bewail» in the Judaism dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/B/bewail/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«bewail» in the Judaism dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/judaism/w/bewail.html) on Mova free.