Link Centre Dictionary

wail

UK/weɪl/ US/weɪɫ/ uncommon obsolete slang
verb (2) noun (1)

verb

1.

emit long loud cries

  • “wail in self-pity”
  • “howl with sorrow”
Synonyms
2.

cry weakly or softly

  • “she wailed with pain”
Synonyms

noun

1.

a cry of sorrow and grief

  • “their pitiful laments could be heard throughout the ward”
Synonyms

Origin

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.

Phrases

  • Daily Wail
  • death wail
  • wail on

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.