- Sighing
- Sigh Sigh, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Sighed}; p. pr. & vb. n.
{Sighing}.] [OE. sighen, si?en; cf. also OE. siken, AS.
s[=i]can, and OE. sighten, si?ten, sichten, AS. siccettan;
all, perhaps, of imitative origin.]
1. To inhale a larger quantity of air than usual, and
immediately expel it; to make a deep single audible
respiration, especially as the result or involuntary
expression of fatigue, exhaustion, grief, sorrow, or the
like.
[1913 Webster]
2. Hence, to lament; to grieve. [1913 Webster]
He sighed deeply in his spirit. --Mark viii. 12. [1913 Webster]
3. To make a sound like sighing. [1913 Webster]
And the coming wind did roar more loud, And the sails did sigh like sedge. --Coleridge. [1913 Webster]
The winter winds are wearily sighing. --Tennyson. [1913 Webster]
Note: An extraordinary pronunciation of this word as s[=i]th is still heard in England and among the illiterate in the United States. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
