Skriegh

Part of speech: verb, noun

Definitions

1. To make a high-pitched, piercing cry or screech, as a Scots speaker might when startled or in distress
2. Describing the act of letting out a sharp, shrill shriek, typically of fear, pain or excitement
3. Uttering a loud, harsh, piercing sound of the kind a bird or person makes when frightened

Etymology: "Skriegh" is an alternative spelling of "skreak," a Scots and northern English word for a shrill, piercing cry or scream. The spelling with "gh" reflects the Scots habit of writing a guttural sound, the same letter pattern found in words like "laugh" and "bough," where it once stood for a sound now lost in most dialects. The word belongs to the family of "shriek" and "screak," imitative words built around the harsh hiss-and-rasp sounds of distress or a grating creak. Its use is mostly confined to Scottish and northern dialects, where it has long described the sharp cry of a bird or the thin wail of a person in pain.

Synonyms: shriek, scream, screech