wail
See also: Wäil
English edit
Pronunciation edit
- enPR: wāl, IPA(key): /weɪl/, [weɪɫ]
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -eɪl
- Homophone: wale
- Homophone: whale (in accents with the wine-whine merger)
Etymology 1 edit
c. 1300, Middle English weilen, waylen (“to sob, cry, wail”),[1] from Old Norse væla (“to wail”),[2] from væ, vei (“woe”),[3] from Proto-Germanic *wai (whence also Old English wā (“woe”) (English woe)), from Proto-Indo-European *wáy.
The verb is first attested in the intransitive sense; the transitive sense developed in mid-14th c.. The noun came from the verb.
Verb edit
wail (third-person singular simple present wails, present participle wailing, simple past and past participle wailed)
- (intransitive) To cry out, as in sorrow or anguish.
- (intransitive) To weep, lament persistently or bitterly.
- (intransitive) To make a noise like mourning or crying.
- The wind wailed and the rain streamed down.
- (transitive) To lament; to bewail; to grieve over.
- to wail one's death
- 1595 December 9 (first known performance), William Shakespeare, “The life and death of King Richard the Second”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act 3, scene 2]:
- My lord, wise men ne'er sit and wail their woes
- (slang, music) To perform with great liveliness and force.
- 1999, Lewis A. Erenberg, Swingin' the Dream: Big Band Jazz and the Rebirth of American Culture[2], page 111:
- At Boston's Roseland, as "the Count's band was wailing," he grabbed Mamie, an avid dancer. The "band was screaming when she kicked off her shoes and got barefooted
- 2012, Robert Lewis Barrett, A Portrait of the First Born As a Child[3], page 377:
- The band was really wailing as we quickly made our dance moves in a most provocative manner.
- 2013, Joan Silber, Fools[4], →ISBN:
- We had a nondenominational wedding, with a bunch of great Sufi musicians really wailing, and my wildly enthusiastic mother in attendance.
Derived terms edit
Translations edit
to cry out
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to weep, lament
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to make a sound like crying
to grieve over
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Noun edit
wail (plural wails)
- A prolonged cry, usually high-pitched, especially as of grief or anguish. [from 15th c.]
- She let out a loud, doleful wail.
- Any similar sound as of lamentation; a howl.
- The wail of snow-dark winter winds.
- A bird's wail in the night.
- A sound made by emergency vehicle sirens, contrasted with "yelp" which is higher-pitched and faster.
Derived terms edit
Translations edit
loud cry or shriek
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a long drawn out howl
emergency vehicle siren
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References edit
- ^ [1] Merriam-Webster
- ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “wail”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
- ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “wail”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
Etymology 2 edit
From Old Norse val (“choice”). Compare Icelandic velja (“to choose”). More at wale.
Verb edit
wail (third-person singular simple present wails, present participle wailing, simple past and past participle wailed)
- (obsolete) Synonym of wale (“to choose; to select”)
- c. 1500, Robert Henryson, The Testament of Cresseid:
- Wailed wine and metes
References edit
- “wail”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “wail”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
- “wail”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
Anagrams edit
Asilulu edit
Noun edit
wail
References edit
- James T. Collins, The Historical Relationships of the Languages of Central Maluku, Indonesia (1983), page 70
Cebuano edit
Etymology edit
Blend of wala (“not”) + ilhi (“known, recognized”)
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
wail (Badlit spelling ᜏᜁᜎ᜔)
- an insignificant person
- an unknown person or thing
- an unknown celebrity or politician