wail

wail

See also: Wäil

English

Pronunciation

• enPR: wāl, IPA^(key): /weɪl/, [weɪɫ]

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪl
• Homophone: wale
• Homophone: whale (in accents with the wine-whine merger)

Etymology 1

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-14^th c.. The noun came from the verb.

Verb

wail (third-person singular simple present wails, present participle wailing, simple past and past participle wailed)

1. (intransitive) To cry out, as in sorrow or anguish.
2. (intransitive) To weep, lament persistently or bitterly.
3. (intransitive) To make a noise like mourning or crying.

   The wind wailed and the rain streamed down.

4. (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 606515358, [Act 3, scene 2]:

     My lord, wise men ne'er sit and wail their woes

5. (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

• bewail
• wailer
• wailingly

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) Finnish: ulistaTu misma la semana que viene, ya te he dicho que por Jaume no había problema. Secretaria se ha quedado cerrada alguna semana entera y no ha pasado nada. German: jammern (de), heulen (de) Gothic: 𐌷𐌹𐌿𐍆𐌰𐌽 (hiufan) Greek: Ancient: γοάω (goáō) Italian: piangere (it), lamentarsi (it) Kazakh: зарлау (zarlau) Latin: vagio 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) Westrobothnian: wel ǃXóõ: gǃkxʻáã

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) 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) Italian: lamentarsi (it), gemere (it), piagnucolare (it) 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

to make a sound like crying

Bulgarian: ридая (bg) (ridaja), вия (bg) (vija) Finnish: ulvoa (fi), ulista (fi), valittaa (fi) Galician: laiar, salaiar German: heulen (de) Italian: gemere (it) m, lamentarsi (it), ululare (it) Maori: whakapū Russian: выть (ru) (vytʹ) Spanish: gemir (es)

to grieve over

Bulgarian: оплаквам (bg) (oplakvam) German: klagen (de), wehklagen (de), beweinen (de)

to perform with great liveliness and force (slang)

German: jaulen (de) (pejorative)

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

Danish: (please verify) klage (da); (please verify) jamre; Dutch: (please verify) huilen (nl) Italian: (please verify) strillo (it)

Noun

wail (plural wails)

1. A prolonged cry, usually high-pitched, especially as of grief or anguish. [from 15^th c.]

   She let out a loud, doleful wail.

2. Any similar sound as of lamentation; a howl.

   The wail of snow-dark winter winds.

   A bird's wail in the night.

3. A sound made by emergency vehicle sirens, contrasted with "yelp" which is higher-pitched and faster.

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 m, Wehklagen (de) n (exalted), Kreischen 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 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

a long drawn out howl

German: Heulen (de) n, Jaulen n, Schrei (de) m (bird), Geschrei (de) n (birds), Kreischen n (birds) Maori: whakapū

emergency vehicle siren

Bulgarian: вой (bg) m (voj) German: Heulen (de) n Italian: suono di sirena m

References

1. Merriam-Webster
2. Douglas Harper (2001–2023), “wail”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
3. Douglas Harper (2001–2023), “wail”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

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)

1. (obsolete) Synonym of wale (“to choose; to select”)
   • c. 1500, Robert Henryson, The Testament of Cresseid

     Wailed wine and metes

References

• wail in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• wail in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911
• wail at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• wali, wila, wāli

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Asilulu

Noun

wail

1. water

References

• James T. Collins, The Historical Relationships of the Languages of Central Maluku, Indonesia (1983), page 70

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Cebuano

Etymology

Blend of wala (“not”) +‎ ilhi (“known, recognized”)

Pronunciation

• (General Cebuano) IPA^(key): /ˈwaˌil̪/
• Rhymes: -il̪
• Hyphenation: wa‧il

Noun

wail

1. an insignificant person
2. an unknown person or thing
3. an unknown celebrity or politician