wail

Meanings

Verb

• To cry out, as in sorrow or anguish.
• To weep, lament persistently or bitterly.
• To make a noise like mourning or crying.
• To lament; to bewail; to grieve over.
• To perform with great liveliness and force.
• Synonym of wale

Noun

• A prolonged cry, usually high-pitched, especially as of grief or anguish.
• Any similar sound as of lamentation; a howl.
• A sound made by emergency vehicle sirens, contrasted with "yelp" which is higher-pitched and faster.

Origin

• c. 1300, Middle English weilen, waylen, from Old Norse væla ("to wail"), from væ, vei, from Proto-Germanic *wai (whence also Old English wā ("woe") (English woe)), from Proto-Indo-European *wai.
• The verb is first attested in the intransitive sense; the transitive sense developed in mid-14^th c.. The noun came from the verb.
• From Old Norse val ("choice"). Compare Icelandic velja ("to choose"). More at wale#Etymology 2.