Waul

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /wɔːl/

Definitions

1. To make a loud, prolonged cry or howl, often expressing distress or pain ; to cause an animal, especially a cat, to utter a loud, plaintive noise
2. To utter a sharp, loud wailing sound, typically by an animal in discomfort or anger ; to provoke or produce a loud crying or howling noise in someone or something
3. To give a piercing, loud cry usually linked with discomfort or complaint ; to incite a creature to emit a loud, mournful vocal sound

Etymology: "Waul" is a verb meaning to cry out mournfully, and its sound is much of its story. It comes from Middle English "wraulen" or "wrawlen," which meant to cry like a cat or to roar. The word's old sense was closer to a yowl than a sob: a harsh, animal noise, the sort a cat makes on a back fence at night. Its relatives come from across the North Sea. Danish "vræle" and "vråle," and Swedish "vråla," all mean to bellow, roar, howl or yell, which suggests a shared Scandinavian and Germanic root for this kind of loud, rough cry. English kept the sound while the word softened over the centuries, drifting from the raw noise of an animal toward the thin, drawn-out wail of a human in grief.

Synonyms: howl, cry, wail, yowl, scream

Antonyms: whisper, murmur, coo, silence, speak softly