Gawl

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To shout or cry out in a loud, harsh voice, especially in distress or anger
2. Describing the act of bawling or wailing noisily, as a child or animal might do
3. Making a loud, raucous outcry, typically expressing pain, grief or protest

Etymology: In Scots and northern English dialect, "gawl" is a variant of "gowl," a verb meaning to howl, bawl or cry out loudly. Its likely source is Old Norse "gaula," "to bellow," which survives in modern Icelandic as "gaula." The sound-alike "gaul" is a related spelling, and the sense is still heard in some dialect speech, where a crying child or a loud, unhappy animal might be said to be "gawling." Its exact early attestations are uncertain, so this relationship is probable rather than fully documented.