Teardrop tattoo - wikipedia Teardrop tattoo Rapper Lil Wayne with teardrop tattoos below his eyes. The teardrop tattoo or tear tattoo is a symbolic tattoo of a tear that is placed underneath the eye. The tattoo can have various meanings : it can signify that the wearer has killed someone or has spent time in prison ; that the wearer was raped while incarcerated and tattooed with a tear drop below the eye by the offending party and his accomplices, or it can acknowledge the loss of a family or fellow gang member. Sometimes, only the wearer will know the exact meaning of the tattoo. The tattoo 's meaning also can change depending on whether the tear is empty or is filled with ink. The tattoo is sometimes worn by the female companions of prisoners in solidarity with their loved ones. According to The Devil 's Front Porch, a book written by Lester Douglas Johnson about serving 1927 to 1957 in Kansas State Penitentiary ; the tattoo denoted a member of `` The Old Fraternity '' ; referring to the Biblical Cain who slew his brother. US rappers The Game and Lil Wayne have teardrop tattoos signifying the death of friends. Amy Winehouse had a teardrop tattooed to mark her distress at husband Blake Fielder - Civil remaining on remand at Pentonville Prison. Basketball player Amar'e Stoudemire has had a teardrop tattoo since 2012 ; honoring his older brother Hazell Jr. who had died in a car accident. A teardrop tattoo is worn by Portuguese footballer Ricardo Quaresma. See also Criminal tattoo References ^ Jump up to : Smith, Brendan ( April 25, 2008 ). `` Tattoo Regret ''. Washington City Paper. Retrieved 2010 - 09 - 20. Jump up ^ Macdonald, John Marshall ( 1987 ). The confession : interrogation and criminal profiles for police officers. Apache Press. p. 83. ISBN 9780961823009. A teardrop tattoo below the corner of the eye represents five years in prison. Jump up ^ `` Four Days in the Oaxaca State Prison : Mexico Living ''. exconnect.com. Retrieved 3 November 2016. the victim of rape is tattooed with a tear drop below the eye by the offending party ^ Jump up to : Poljac, Bakir ; Burke, Tod ( August 2008 ). `` Erasing the Past : Tattoo - Removal Programs for Former Gang Members ''. FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin. 77 ( 8 ). pp. 13 -- 18. Jump up ^ WOLF, SONJA ; Logan, Samuel ( August 2010 ). `` This is for the Mara Salvatrucha : Inside the MS - 13, America 's Most Violent Gang ''. Journal of Latin American Studies. 42 ( 3 ) : 627 -- 629. doi : 10.1017 / s0022216x10000994. Jump up ^ Santos, Xuan ( Fall 2009 ). `` The Chicana Canvas : Doing Class, Gender, Race, and Sexuality through Tattooing in East Los Angeles ''. Feminist Formations. 21 ( 3 ) : 91 -- 120. Jump up ^ Binelli, Mark ( April 16, 2009 ). `` Life on Planet Wayne ''. Rolling Stone. pp. 43 -- 47, 73 -- 74. ^ Jump up to : Hooper, Mark ( 10 December 2007 ). `` Catch of the day : Amy 's new tattoo ''. theguardian.com. Retrieved 3 November 2016 -- via The Guardian. Jump up ^ Lorenzo, Tom ( 2012 - 02 - 14 ). `` Amar'e Stoudemire Honors His Late Brother By Getting A `` Teardrop '' Tattoo ``. Sports Grid. Retrieved 2012 - 02 - 28. Jump up ^ `` No - one knows why Ricardo Quaresma has two tear tattoos on his face ''. dreamteamfc.com. 18 June 2016. Retrieved 3 November 2016. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Teardrop_tattoo&oldid=796016045 '' Categories : Symbols Tattoo designs Hidden categories : All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from July 2015 Talk About Wikipedia Deutsch Ελληνικά Español Nederlands Edit links This page was last edited on 17 August 2017, at 23 : 12. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: what's the meaning of teardrop tattoos under the eyes
Answer: it can signify that the wearer has killed someone[1] or has spent time in prison;[2] that the wearer was raped while incarcerated and tattooed with a tear drop below the eye by the offending party and his accomplices,[3][4] or it can acknowledge the loss of a family or fellow gang member. Sometimes, only the wearer will know the exact meaning of the tattoo.[4][5] The tattoo’s meaning also can change depending on whether the tear is empty or is filled with ink.