Dutch

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Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ɦøːlə(n)/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Hyphenation: heu‧len
  • Rhymes: -øːlən

Etymology 1

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First attested in the sixteenth century. This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.

Verb

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heulen

  1. (intransitive) To conspire
Inflection
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Conjugation of heulen (weak)
infinitive heulen
past singular heulde
past participle geheuld
infinitive heulen
gerund heulen n
present tense past tense
1st person singular heul heulde
2nd person sing. (jij) heult, heul2 heulde
2nd person sing. (u) heult heulde
2nd person sing. (gij) heult heulde
3rd person singular heult heulde
plural heulen heulden
subjunctive sing.1 heule heulde
subjunctive plur.1 heulen heulden
imperative sing. heul
imperative plur.1 heult
participles heulend geheuld
1) Archaic. 2) In case of inversion.

Etymology 2

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See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Noun

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heulen

  1. plural of heul

German

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Etymology

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From Middle High German hiulen, from Old High German hūwilōn, from Proto-West Germanic *hūilōn.

Pronunciation

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Verb

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heulen (weak, third-person singular present heult, past tense heulte, past participle geheult, auxiliary haben)

  1. to howl, to whine (make a loud, usually high-pitched sound)
  2. (sometimes informal or derogatory) to weep, to cry (see usage notes)
    Synonym: weinen

Usage notes

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  • Both in colloquial and literary German, heulen often has a deprecatory tone, implying that the weeping is unjustified and exaggerated. However, in the vernacular it is also commonly used as an entirely neutral synonym of weinen. So one could say in an affectionate and consoling manner: Ach Schatz... jetzt heul doch nicht! Komm her zu mir! (“Oh honey... now don’t cry! Come to me!”). In literary German, heulen is used neutrally only for very intense or desperate weeping, especially referring to small children.

Conjugation

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Derived terms

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Further reading

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