caterwaul

English

WOTD – 28 March 2008

Etymology

From Middle English caterwrawen, from cater (“cat”) + wrawen, wrawlen (“cry like a cat”), equivalent to cat +‎ waul. Compare Low German katerwaulen (“to cry like a cat”) and Middle Dutch cater (“tomcat”) (Dutch kater).

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: ca‧ter‧waul
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈkæt.ə.wɔːl/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈkæt.ɚ.wɔl/
• (cot–caught merger, Inland Northern American) IPA^(key): /ˈkæt.ɚ.wɑl/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

Verb

caterwaul (third-person singular simple present caterwauls, present participle caterwauling, simple past and past participle caterwauled)

1. (intransitive) To cry as cats in heat; to make a harsh, offensive noise.
2. (intransitive) To have a noisy argument, like cats.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:argument

Related terms

• caterwauler

Translations

to cry as cats

• Dutch: krollen (nl)
• Finnish: mouruta (fi)
• French: feuler (fr)
• Hungarian: nyivákol (hu), nyávog (hu)
• Latin: cauriō

to have a noisy argument

• French: faire du chahut

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• French: ^{(please verify)} faire un vrai sabbat

Noun

caterwaul (plural caterwauls)

1. A yowling.
2. A noisy quarrel.

Translations

noisy quarrel, particularly of cats

• Danish: kattejammer c
• German: Katzenjammer (de) m

Further reading

• “caterwaul”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.