Definition of "lachrymatory" in English

adjective

1. Pertaining to or causing tears.

   • 1919: It is sheer affectation to lacerate a man with the poisonous fragment of a bursting shell and to boggle at making his eyes water by means of lachrymatory gas. — Winston Churchill, "1919 War Office Memorandum"

noun

1. (archaeology) A vase supposedly intended to hold tears; formerly used by archaeologists to designate certain urns found in Roman burials.

   • 1658: For beside these Lachrymatories, notable Lamps with Vessels of Oyles and Aromaticall Liquors attended noble Ossuaries. — Sir Thomas Browne, Urne-Burial (Penguin 2005, p. 21)