Skreich

Part of speech: verb, noun

Definitions

1. A high-pitched, piercing cry or screech ; to let out a high-pitched, piercing cry
2. A sharp, shrill scream of the kind a bird or person might give ; to make such a sharp, shrill scream
3. An ear-piercing shriek or screech ; to give out a piercing, high-pitched sound of distress

Etymology: "Skreich" is a Scots and northern English variant of "skreak", a word imitating a harsh, high-pitched cry or screech. Because the source supplies nothing beyond the equivalence, the rest of the word's story (its earliest dates and its Scots and English routes) cannot be traced from this material alone. What can be said is that the two spellings name one and the same sound, a sharp, grating shriek, and that "skreich" is simply the alternative way of writing it.