What does the teardrop symbol symbolize?

Answer 1

This is originally a prison tattoo (circa 1920, I may be wrong) it generally shows that time has been served and it was a sorrowful time. It has also been used to commemorate a loved one who has died while the prisoner served time or even to symbolise the number of people that a person might have killed.

If the teardrop tattoo is just in the form of an outline, it implies that a friend of the wearer was killed. If a teardrop tattoo is coloured inside the outline it represents that the wearer's friend has been killed and the wearer has taken revenge of his friend's death.

An empty tear thus symbolizes that a loved one has been killed or the wearer has successfully shot someone else. A filled teardrop tattoo represents that a loved one has committed suicide or was killed by some cause other than a murder. It could be an accident or a death penalty. A teardrop tattoo on face with an empty top and a full bottom symbolizes that the wearer has taken a revenge of the murder of a loved one. An empty teardrop tattoo on face also symbolizes a person's time served in prison, which is usually a year at least. Teardrop tattoo can also be inked as a remembrance of a loved one who passed away while the wearer was incarcerated

It can also come from Chicano gangs in Chicago and throughout other places in The United States of America

NEVER undertake a tattoo like this without knowing it's true nature please as you never know who you may meet who may get the wrong idea or impression about you.

Answer 2

sad