Howl

Part of speech: verb, noun

Pronunciation: /haʊl/

Definitions

1. A loud and mournful vocal expression often associated with animals, typically signifying distress, loneliness, or a call to others in the vicinity
2. A prolonged and loud sound made by animals usually to communicate or show emotion ; a sharp or mournful yell made by a person, often expressing pain or anger ; the noise produced by strong wind when it moves through openings or around objects
3. An extended, howling noise emitted by creatures as a form of signaling or distress ; an intense vocal outburst by a human, conveying strong feeling or protest ; a continuous roaring sound caused by gusty winds in nature or through structures

Etymology: Howl is one of those words whose sound seems to be its meaning: it is thought to be imitative, a vocal cry shaped by the noise it describes. Its ancestors run deep into the Germanic languages, where a single root gave rise to a whole family of related words for crying out. Old English had "hūlian," and the same root survives in Dutch "huilen," which means "to cry" rather than to howl, and in German "heulen," which covers both howling and weeping. The family is spread widely across the Germanic languages. Swedish "yla" means to scream or yell, Danish "hyle" means to howl, and Low German "hulen" carries the same sense as English. Even Romanian "a hăuli" and Old French "ouler" turn up among its relatives, showing how a simple cry can be reproduced in very different tongues. The root is probably connected to a much older Indo-European base meaning to howl or scream, though that link is uncertain.

Synonyms: wail, cry, yowl

Antonyms: whisper