caterwaul
English
WOTD – 28 March 2008
Etymology
From Middle English caterwrawen, from cater (“cat”) + wrawen, wrawlen (“cry like a cat”), equivalent to cat + waul. Compare Low German katerwaulen (“to cry like a cat”) and Middle Dutch cater (“tomcat”) (Dutch kater).
Pronunciation
- Hyphenation: ca‧ter‧waul
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈkæt.ə.wɔːl/
- (US) IPA(key): /ˈkæt.ɚ.wɔl/, /ˈkæt.ɚ.wɑl/
- (cot–caught merger, northern cities vowel shift) IPA(key): /ˈkæt.ɚ.wɑl/
Audio (US) (file)
Verb
caterwaul (third-person singular simple present caterwauls, present participle caterwauling, simple past and past participle caterwauled)
- (intransitive) To cry as cats in heat; to make a harsh, offensive noise.
- (intransitive) To have a noisy argument, like cats.
- Synonyms: see Thesaurus:argument
Related terms
- caterwauler
Translations
to cry as cats
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to have a noisy argument
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
Translations to be checked
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Noun
caterwaul (plural caterwauls)
- A yowling.
- A noisy quarrel.
Translations
noisy quarrel, particularly of cats
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Further reading
- caterwaul in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.