dolent

English

Etymology

From Middle English dolent, from Old French dolent, from Latin dolēns, present participle of doleō (“to grieve”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈdəʊlənt/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈdoʊlənt/

Adjective

dolent (comparative more dolent, superlative most dolent)

1. (archaic) Sad, sorrowful.
   • 1874, James Thomson, The City of Dreadful Night:

     Poor wretch! who once hath paced that dolent city
     Shall pace it often, doomed beyond all pity,
     With horror ever deepening from the first.

   • 1969, Vladimir Nabokov, Ada or Ardor, Penguin, published 2011, page 148:

     ‘Did you find them all, Uncle Van?’ she inquired, sighing, laying her dolent head on his shoulder.

Related terms

English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *delh₁- (0 c, 19 e)

Catalan

Etymology

Inherited from Latin dolentem (“hurting, suffering, in pain”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Northern) [duˈle̞n]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic, Valencia) [doˈlent]
• IPA^(key): (Central) [duˈlen]
• IPA^(key): (Northwestern) [doˈlen]

• Audio (Western):

  (file)

• Audio (Catalonia):

  (file)

Adjective

dolent (feminine dolenta, masculine plural dolents, feminine plural dolentes)

1. bad
2. evil

   Synonyms: malvat, malèfic

3. (Valencia) ill

   Synonym: malalt

4. aching
5. morally afflicted

Derived terms

• dolenteria
• dolentíssim

Verb

dolent

1. gerund of doldre

Further reading

• Alcover, Antoni Maria; Moll, Francesc de Borja (1963), “dolent”, in Diccionari català-valencià-balear (in Catalan)
• “dolent”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026
• “dolent”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007

French

Etymology

Inherited from Middle French dolent, from Old French dolent, borrowed from Latin dolentem (“hurting, suffering”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dɔ.lɑ̃/

Adjective

dolent (feminine dolente, masculine plural dolents, feminine plural dolentes)

1. (archaic) mournful
   • 1857, Gustave Flaubert, Madame Bovary […]‎^[1], Paris: Michel Lévy Frères:

     Il maigrit, sa taille s'allongea, et sa figure prit une sorte d'expression dolente qui la rendit presque intéressante.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Related terms

• douloir
• douleur

Further reading

• “dolent”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

German

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin dolens.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [doˈlɛnt]
• Hyphenation: do‧lent

• Audio (Germany (Berlin)):

  (file)

Adjective

dolent (strong nominative masculine singular dolenter, not comparable)

1. (medicine) painful

Declension

Positive forms of dolent (uncomparable)

number & gender		singular			plural
		masculine	feminine	neuter
predicative		er ist dolent	sie ist dolent	es ist dolent	sie sind dolent
strong declension (without article)	nominative	dolenter	dolente	dolentes	dolente
	genitive	dolenten	dolenter	dolenten	dolenter
	dative	dolentem	dolenter	dolentem	dolenten
	accusative	dolenten	dolente	dolentes	dolente
weak declension (with definite article)	nominative	der dolente	die dolente	das dolente	die dolenten
	genitive	des dolenten	der dolenten	des dolenten	der dolenten
	dative	dem dolenten	der dolenten	dem dolenten	den dolenten
	accusative	den dolenten	die dolente	das dolente	die dolenten
mixed declension (with indefinite article)	nominative	ein dolenter	eine dolente	ein dolentes	(keine) dolenten
	genitive	eines dolenten	einer dolenten	eines dolenten	(keiner) dolenten
	dative	einem dolenten	einer dolenten	einem dolenten	(keinen) dolenten
	accusative	einen dolenten	eine dolente	ein dolentes	(keine) dolenten

Latin

Verb

dolent

1. third-person plural present active indicative of doleō

Middle French

Etymology

From Old French dolent.

Adjective

dolent m (feminine singular dolente, masculine plural dolents, feminine plural dolentes)

1. sad

Descendants

• French: dolent

Old French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin dolēns, dolēntem (“hurting, suffering”).

Adjective

dolent m (feminine dolent or dolente)

1. painful; causing suffering and pain

Declension

	Case	masculine	feminine	neuter
singular	subject	dolenz	dolente	dolent
	oblique	dolent			dolente	dolent
plural	subject	dolent	dolentes		dolent
	oblique	dolents			dolentes	dolent

Related terms

• doloir
• dolor, dolur

Descendants

• → Middle English: dolent
  • English: dolent
• Middle French: dolent
  • French: dolent