Shoute

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. To call out or yell at high volume, as an archaic spelling of shout ; a sudden loud cry or yell uttered by a person
2. An old spelling of the verb meaning to raise the voice in a loud cry ; the loud outburst of sound produced by such a cry
3. To utter a loud, forceful call or exclamation ; a piercing vocal outburst, such as a cry of joy, warning or protest

Etymology: "Shoute" is an older spelling of "shout," used in Middle English, the English of roughly the medieval period. Its exact origin is uncertain. Etymologists have proposed a link to the Old Norse "skúta," meaning a taunt or jeer, which would fit the word's early sense of a hostile or challenging cry. Another suggestion connects it to an Old English verb "scūtan," meaning to shoot or project, so the sense may have been a sound thrown forcefully outward. Neither proposal can be confirmed, and the evidence is thin. Early English uses of the word often describe a loud call to attack or a noisy protest rather than any cry at all. The spelling settled into "shout" over the following centuries, and "shoute" survives today only in historical texts and some dialect writing.

Synonyms: shout, cry, yell

Antonyms: whisper, murmur