wail

Definition

To cry out, as in sorrow or anguish.

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.

Example Sentences

• "The wind wailed and the rain streamed down."
• "to wail one's death"
• "My lord, wise men ne'er sit and wail their woes"