Weep

A meta-study by the German Society of Ophthalmology in found that women weep, on average, five times as often, and almost twice as long per episode. But actually, the gender gap in crying seems to be a recent development. Historical and literary evidence suggests that, in the past, not only did men cry in public, but no one saw it as feminine or shameful. In fact, male weeping was regarded as normal in almost every part of the world for most of recorded history.

King Priam not only cries but tears his hair and grovels in the dirt for woe. Zeus weeps tears of blood, and even the immortal horses of Achilles cry buckets at the death of Patroklos. In chronicles of the period, we find one ambassador repeatedly bursting into tears when addressing Philip the Good, and the entire audience at a peace congress throwing themselves on the ground, sobbing and groaning as they listen to the speeches. In the 11th-century French epic The Song of Roland , the poet describes this reaction to the death of the eponymous hero: In The Tale of Heike , which is often cited as a source for the ideal behaviour of a samurai, we find men crying demonstratively at every turn.

Some might object that these are all public, ceremonial expressions of grief. Men might cry in this ritual manner over weighty issues of death, war and politics, but surely personal tears of love and frustration were still confined to women?

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I n a word, no. In medieval romances, we find innumerable instance of knights crying purely because they miss their girlfriends. No one pretends to have something in his eye. No one makes an excuse to leave the room.

Man, weeping

They cry in a crowded hall with their heads held high. The Bible is full of similar references to demonstrative weeping by kings, entire peoples, and God Himself as incarnated in Jesus. St Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits, describes separate crying episodes in a single page section of his diary. Weeping was such a central part of worship that it was written into the rules of monastic orders as a required accompaniment of prayer and repentance.

Throughout the medieval era, disapproval of crying is confined to hypocritical tears, which were understood to be common in both men and women. Put another way, until recently, grown men actually forced themselves to cry publicly in the hope of impressing their peers. As the medievalist Sif Rikhardsdottir of the University of Iceland notes, Scandinavians maintained a dry-eyed composure through these sobbing centuries.

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In her Medieval Translations and Cultural Discourse , Rikhardsdottir illustrates this point by citing two versions of a medieval epic in which a boy hero is lost in the woods. The French hero dissolves in self-pitying tears; his Icelandic counterpart stoically admires the scenery and contemplates his next move.

The description in the Icelandic text is positively buoyant: He jumped from his horse there and looked out at the sea and intended to sit there until he got some revelation. The accusation of a man crying was in fact justifiably avenged with death.

Outside of Scandinavia, rampant male boo-hooing persisted well into the Early Modern period, and extended to parliamentarians as well as knights and monks. In , the English politician Thomas Alured describes the reaction in the House of Commons to a letter from the king threatening the dissolution of Parliament: S o where did all the male tears go?

There was no anti-crying movement.

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The meringue will weep if you put it in the fridge. Season three of NBC's hit weep -fest begins tonight.

First Known Use of weep before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1. Learn More about weep. Resources for weep Time Traveler!

Scientist Asks: Why Do We Weep?

Explore the year a word first appeared. Dictionary Entries near weep ween weenie weeny weep weeper weep hole weepie. Time Traveler for weep The first known use of weep was before the 12th century See more words from the same century. More Definitions for weep. English Language Learners Definition of weep. Kids Definition of weep. More from Merriam-Webster on weep Rhyming Dictionary: Words that rhyme with weep Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for weep Spanish Central: Translation of weep Nglish: She wept herself into a state of exhaustion.

To exude or let fall drops of liquid: To express emotion, such as grief, sadness, or joy, by shedding tears. See Synonyms at cry. To mourn or grieve: To emit or run with drops of liquid: Physiology to shed tears as an expression of grief or unhappiness. Pathology intr of a wound, etc to exude a watery or serous fluid. He wept his dead brother. If you cry, tears come out of your eyes because you are unhappy, afraid, or in pain.

Helen began to cry. The girl was weeping as she kissed him goodbye.