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wail. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
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English
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
c. 1300, Middle English weilen, waylen (“to sob, cry, wail”), from Old Norse væla (“to wail”), from væ, vei (“woe”), 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
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 Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, :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, 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, page 377:The band was really wailing as we quickly made our dance moves in a most provocative manner.
2013, Joan Silber, Fools, →ISBN:We had a nondenominational wedding, with a bunch of great Sufi musicians really wailing, and my wildly enthusiastic mother in attendance.
Derived terms
Translations
to cry out
- Bikol Central: haya
- Bulgarian: стена (bg) (stena)
- Catalan: plànyer-se (ca), gemegar (ca)
- Chinese:
- Mandarin: 嚎啕 (zh) (háotáo), 號啕/号啕 (zh) (háotáo), 號哭/号哭 (zh) (háokū)
- Danish: hyle, jamre
- Finnish: ulista (fi), itkeä (fi)
- French: gémir (fr)
- Galician: salaiar, laiar, lanxir
- German: jammern (de), heulen (de)
- Gothic: 𐌷𐌹𐌿𐍆𐌰𐌽 (hiufan)
- Greek:
- Ancient: γοάω (goáō)
- Hungarian: jajgat (hu), jajveszékel (hu)
- Italian: piangere (it), lamentarsi (it)
- Kazakh: зарлау (zarlau)
- Latin: vagio
- Mpade: swe
- Norwegian: jamre (no)
- Persian: زاری کردن (zâri kardan), ضجه زدن (zajje zadan)
- Polish: zawodzić (pl) impf, kwilić impf
- Russian: вопи́ть (ru) (vopítʹ)
- Spanish: llorar (es), lamentar (es)
- ǃXóõ: gǃkxʻáã
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to weep, lament
- Bikol Central: haya
- Bulgarian: ридая (bg) (ridaja), оплаквам (bg) (oplakvam)
- Catalan: plorar (ca), lamentar-se (ca)
- Chinese:
- Cantonese: 哀泣 (oi1 jap1) (literary)
- Mandarin: 哀泣 (zh) (āiqì) (literary)
- Danish: jamre, klage (da)
- Egyptian: (jwjw)
- Finnish: ulista (fi), itkeä (fi)
- French: se lamenter (fr), vagir (fr)
- Galician: laiar, salaiar, lanxir
- German: heulen (de), wehklagen (de) (obsolete)
- Gothic: 𐌵𐌰𐌹𐌽𐍉𐌽 (qainōn)
- Greek:
- Ancient: ὀδύρομαι (odúromai)
- Hungarian: sír (hu), siránkozik (hu)
- Ingrian: ulissa
- Italian: lamentarsi (it), gemere (it), piagnucolare (it)
- Mpade: swe
- Old English: rēotan
- Persian: گریه و زاری کردن (gerye-o-zâri kardan)
- Russian: выть (ru) (vytʹ), вопи́ть (ru) (vopítʹ), стена́ть (ru) (stenátʹ), причита́ть (ru) (pričitátʹ)
- Spanish: llorar (es)
- Turkish: mızmızlanmak (tr) (lament / informal)
- ǃXóõ: gǃkxʻáã
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to make a sound like crying
Translations to be checked
Noun
wail (plural wails)
- A prolonged cry, usually high-pitched, especially as of grief or anguish.
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
Translations
loud cry or shriek
- Bulgarian: вопъл (bg) m (vopǎl), стон (bg) (ston)
- Catalan: gemec (ca) m
- Danish: hyl n, jammer c, klageråb n
- Dutch: schreeuw (nl) m, kreet (nl) m
- Esperanto: vekrio
- Finnish: ulina (fi)
- French: gémissement (fr) m, plainte (fr) f
- Galician: laio m
- German: Schrei (de) m, Schmerzensschrei (de) m, Klagelaut (de) m, Wehklagen (de) n (exalted), Kreischen (de) n
- Icelandic: æpa (is)
- Italian: urlo (it) m, gemito (it) m, lamento (it) m
- Japanese: 泣き声 (ja) (nakigoe), うなり (ja) (unari)
- Latvian: vaimana (lv) f
- Persian: ویله (fa) (veyle)
- Polish: bek (pl) m
- Portuguese: gemido (pt)
- Russian: вой (ru) m (voj), вопль (ru) m (voplʹ), вытьё (ru) n (vytʹjó), стена́ния (ru) n pl (stenánija)
- Spanish: gemido (es) m
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References
Etymology 2
From Old Norse val (“choice”). Compare Icelandic velja (“to choose”). More at wale.
Verb
wail (third-person singular simple present wails, present participle wailing, simple past and past participle wailed)
- (obsolete) Synonym of wale (“to choose; to select”)
References
- “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
Asilulu
Noun
wail
- water
References
- James T. Collins, The Historical Relationships of the Languages of Central Maluku, Indonesia (1983), page 70
Cebuano
Etymology
Blend of wala (“not”) + ilhi (“known, recognized”)
Pronunciation
- Hyphenation: wa‧il
- IPA(key): /waˈʔil/,
- Rhymes: -il
Noun
wail (Badlit spelling ᜏᜁᜎ᜔)
- an insignificant person
- an unknown person or thing
- an unknown celebrity or politician