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Wail
Definitions
- 1 A locality in the Rural City of Horsham, western Victoria, Australia.
- 1 A prolonged cry, usually high-pitched, especially as of grief or anguish.
"She let out a loud, doleful wail."
- 2 a cry of sorrow and grief wordnet
- 3 Any similar sound as of lamentation; a howl.
"The wail of snow-dark winter winds."
- 4 A sound made by emergency vehicle sirens, contrasted with "yelp" which is higher-pitched and faster.
- 1 To cry out, as in sorrow or anguish. intransitive
- 2 Synonym of wale (“to choose; to select”). obsolete
"Wailed wine and metes"
- 3 cry weakly or softly wordnet
- 4 To weep, lament persistently or bitterly. intransitive
- 5 emit long loud cries wordnet
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- 6 To make a noise like mourning or crying. intransitive
"The wind wailed and the rain streamed down."
- 7 To lament; to bewail; to grieve over. transitive
"to wail one's death"
- 8 To perform with great liveliness and force. slang
"Another outstanding surfer from Hawaii - Fred Hemmings. Fred only stands up on alternate Wednesdays, but when he does, he really wails."
Etymology
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.
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.
From Old Norse val (“choice”). Compare Icelandic velja (“to choose”). More at wale.
See also for "wail"
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