maudlin

Etymology

From Middle English Maudelen, a dialectal form of Mary Magdalene (typically depicted weeping), from Old French Madelaine, from Late Latin Magdalena.

noun

1. (obsolete, Christianity) The Magdalene; Mary Magdalene.
   for alle they worſchipden hir ſouereynly / as worthy was / but ſpecially Mawdelayne / that wolde neuere departe fro hir. c. 1400, Nicholas Love, transl., The Mirror of the Blessed Life of Jesus Christ
2. (historical) Either of two aromatic plants, costmary or sweet yarrow.
   Common Maudlin have somewhat long and narrow leaves, snipped about the edges. 1653, Nicholas Culpeper, The English Physician Enlarged, Folio Society, published 2007, page 186
3. (obsolete) A Magdalene house; a brothel.

adj

1. Affectionate or sentimental in an effusive, tearful, or foolish manner, especially because of drunkenness.
   He was a drunkard, and had not known it. What he had fondly imagined was a pleasant exhilaration had been maudlin intoxication. c. 1900, O. Henry, The Rubaiyat of a Scotch Highball
   ...you are my devoted friend too. You do more and work harder and oh shit I'd get maudlin about how damned swell you are. My god I'd like to see you... You're a hell of a good guy. 1927 Mar. 31, Ernest Hemingway, letter to F. Scott Fitzgerald
2. Extravagantly or excessively sentimental; mawkish, self-pitying.
   On the rebound one passes into tears and pathos. Maudlin tears. I almost prefer the moments of agony. These are at least clean and honest. But the bath of self-pity, the wallow, the loathsome sticky-sweet pleasure of indulging it — that disgusts me. 1961, CS Lewis, A Grief Observed
3. (obsolete) Tearful, lachrymose.