Pronounced: muh-REE-nih-zuhm, noun
Notes: I had not heard of this word before
Yesterday’s word
The word lorn means “desolate; forsaken”
First usage
Another old word, going back to the late 1200s
Background / Comments
If you are thinking that this word means the same as “forlorn”, you’re right; they are synonyms. Our word comes from Middle English loren, a past participle of the verb lesen (to lose), descended from the Old English word lēosan (to lose). Although the words are now synonyms, the for- prefix used to mean “completely”, “excessively”, or “to exhaustion”, so being ‘forlorn’ would be a more complete desolation than merely being ‘lorn’. Nevertheless, forlorn is far more commonly used today.
Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day 