European languages use words of different origins to denote sorrow at someone's death and the customs associated with its expression. The English "mourning" derives from the Old English murnan, "to long for" or "to bemoan." The French deuil evolved from Old French doel and ultimately from Latin dolere ("to grieve"; cf. also English "dole," "doleful"). German Trauer (from OHG truren and MHG truren, "to be sorrowful"; cf. also modern German traurig, "sad") originated in referenc…