lamentation
    n 1: a cry of sorrow and grief; "their pitiful laments could be
         heard throughout the ward" [syn: lament, lamentation,
         plaint, wail]
    2: the passionate and demonstrative activity of expressing grief
       [syn: lamentation, mourning]

Lamentation \Lam`en*ta"tion\, n. [F. lamentation, L.
   lamentatio.]
   1. The act of bewailing; audible expression of sorrow;
      wailing; moaning.
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            In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation and
            weeping.                              --Matt. ii.
                                                  18.
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   2. pl. (Script.) A book of the Old Testament attributed to
      the prophet Jeremiah, and taking its name from the nature
      of its contents.
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Lamentation
   (Heb. qinah), an elegy or dirge. The first example of this form
   of poetry is the lament of David over Saul and Jonathan (2 Sam.
   1:17-27). It was a frequent accompaniment of mourning (Amos
   8:10). In 2 Sam. 3:33, 34 is recorded David's lament over Abner.
   Prophecy sometimes took the form of a lament when it predicted
   calamity (Ezek. 27:2, 32; 28:12; 32:2, 16).