condolences
“formal declaration of sympathy,” 1670s, pl. of condolence. Reason for the plural is unclear; earliest references are to expressions from groups of persons; perhaps the habit stuck.
condole (v.)
late 15c., “to sorrow,” from L.L. condolere “to suffer with another,” from com– “with” (see com-) + dolere “to grieve.” Meaning “to express condolences” is recorded from 1650s.
“Condolences” feels like such a formal word these days, but at its heart it doesn’t just mean: “I pity your sorrow from afar.” It means: “I suffer with you.”
It only sounds formal because it tweaks the French/Latin aesthetic borrowed into English, and not the Germanic.
I had a friend pass recently and this is oddly helpful. Thank you.
Thanks Brendan.
I, along with @2 find it timely and oddly helpful.
“Compassion,” too, boils down to “suffering with.”
for Cesaria Evora, Vaclav Havel, or Kim Jong Il?
And “companion,” at bottom, just means “bread with,” which I find wonderful.