Definition

1. Noun:

   • A professional mourner; a weeper: A person, historically often a woman, who is hired to cry and wail at a funeral, especially in wealthy households in the past, to display a show of grief and respect for the deceased.

2. Verb phrase:

   • To be a professional mourner; to mourn for hire: The act of performing as a hired mourner, crying for a stranger in exchange for payment.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • Trong xã hội xưa, "khóc mướn" là một nghề. (In the old society, being a "professional mourner" was a job.)
  • Những người khóc mướn thường được thuê trong các đám ma lớn. (Professional mourners were often hired for large funerals.)

• Verb phrase:

  • Bà ấy đã từng khóc mướn để kiếm sống. (She once worked as a professional mourner to make a living.)
  • Tục lệ khóc mướn giờ đây rất hiếm thấy. (The custom of mourning for hire is very rare now.)

Advanced Usage

• The term "khóc mướn" is primarily historical and cultural, referring to a practice that is largely obsolete in modern times. It highlights a socio-economic aspect where grief was commodified.

Variants and Related Words

• Khóc thuê: This is a direct synonym with the same meaning as "khóc mướn."
  • "Khóc thuê" và "khóc mướn" có nghĩa giống nhau. ("Khóc thuê" and "khóc mướn" have the same meaning.)

Synonyms

• Professional mourner
• Hired weeper
• Mourner for hire

Related Cultural Context

• The practice of "khóc mướn" was part of traditional funeral rites in some cultures, intended to amplify the atmosphere of loss and demonstrate the family's social status through the scale of mourning.

1. Be a professional mourner, be a weepper