keening

Where does the word "keening" come from? It comes from Irish caoineadh, and was adopted directly into English (1810s).

Keening’s story begins in Irish: caoineadh meant “lament for the dead.” The formal lament sung over the dead; Eibhlín Dubh Ní Chonaill's Caoineadh Airt Uí Laoghaire (1773), for her murdered husband, is its most famous example. It reached English by 1810s as keening. Anglicised as 'keen'; paid keening women were a fixture of Irish wakes until the Catholic clergy's disapproval helped the custom fade during the 1800s. Today, keening means a loud wailing lament for the dead.

1. Stage 1 · Irish · 1700s caoineadh "lament for the dead", the formal lament sung over the dead; Eibhlín Dubh Ní Chonaill's Caoineadh Airt Uí Laoghaire (1773), for her murdered husband, is its most famous example.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1810s keening "wailing lament", anglicised as 'keen'; paid keening women were a fixture of Irish wakes until the Catholic clergy's disapproval helped the custom fade during the 1800s.