Phrase guide

lacrimae rerum

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • Received-Pronunciation: lăʹkrĭmī rāʹrəm
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈlækɹɪmaɪ ˈɹeɪɹəm/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The “tears of things”; the inherent tragedy of existence.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: plural, plural-only, rare

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

An allusion to Virgil’s Aeneid (29–19 BC), book I, line 462; Latin: lacrimae (“tears”, the nominative plural form of lacrima, “tear”) + rērum (“of things”, the genitive plural form of rēs, “thing”) = “tears of things”.