Vagitus

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The cry or wailing sound made by a newborn infant immediately after birth
2. The initial cry or wailing sound produced by a newborn baby upon first breathing after delivery
3. A newborn infant's first vocalization or cry uttered at the moment of birth

Etymology: "Vagitus" is the Latin word for the cry of a newborn, and English borrowed it directly as a technical term, which is why it sounds so formal for a sound so universal. The Romans used "vāgītus" for crying and wailing in general, and the verb behind it, "vāgiō," meant to cry or wail. The noun is built on that verb, so the sense of the word is simply the act of crying out. What makes the English usage distinctive is its narrowing. In Latin the word could describe any wailing, but English speakers, especially in medical and literary writing, reserved it for the first cry a baby gives at birth. That specialized sense is the one that remains in use today, so the word now marks a single, very particular moment in human life.