sackcloth

[ sak-klawth, -kloth ]

noun

1. sacking.
2. coarse cloth worn as a sign of mourning or penitence.

sackcloth

/ ˈsækˌklɒθ /

noun

1. coarse cloth such as sacking
2. garments made of such cloth, worn formerly to indicate mourning or penitence
3. sackcloth and ashes
   a public display of extreme grief, remorse, or repentance

Other Words From

• sackclothed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of sackcloth¹

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; sack ¹, cloth

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. in sackcloth and ashes, in a state of repentance or sorrow; contrite:

   She would be in sackcloth and ashes for days over every trifling error she made.

Example Sentences

Why do we don the sackcloth and ashes of the eternal victims?

From The Daily Beast

I have put off the robe of peace, and have put upon me the sackcloth of supplication, and I will cry to the most High in my days.

From Project Gutenberg

Don't delude yourself with the notion that she is sitting down in sackcloth and ashes with her past!

From Project Gutenberg

And the men of Ninive believed in God: and they proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth from the greatest to the least.

From Project Gutenberg

She is known to confess, and is suspected of wearing sackcloth.

From Project Gutenberg

But she was expiating it in very sackcloth and ashes, and he would add nothing to the burden on her back.

From Project Gutenberg