WAILING

lamenting, wailing, wailful

(adjective) vocally expressing grief or sorrow or resembling such expression; “lamenting sinners”; “wailing mourners”; “the wailing wind”; “wailful bagpipes”; “tangle her desires with wailful sonnets”- Shakespeare

wailing, bawling

(noun) loud cries made while weeping

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

wailing (plural wailings)

A loud drawn out scream or howl.

Verb

wailing

present participle of wail

Source: Wiktionary


WAIL

Wail, v. t. Etym: [Cf. Icel. val choice, velja to choose, akin to Goth. waljan, G. wählen.]

Definition: To choose; to select. [Obs.] "Wailed wine and meats." Henryson.

Wail, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Wailed; p. pr. & vb. n. Wailing.] Etym: [OE. wailen, weilen, probably fr. Icel. væla; cf. Icel. væ, vei, woe, and E. wayment, also OE. wai, wei, woe. Cf. Woe.]

Definition: To lament; to bewail; to grieve over; as, to wail one's death. Shak.

Wail, v. i.

Definition: To express sorrow audibly; to make mournful outcry; to weep. Therefore I will wail and howl. Micah i. 8.

Wail, n.

Definition: Loud weeping; violent lamentation; wailing. "The wail of the forest." Longfellow.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

23 February 2025

BARGAIN

(noun) an advantageous purchase; “she got a bargain at the auction”; “the stock was a real buy at that price”


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Coffee Trivia

The Boston Tea Party helped popularize coffee in America. The hefty tea tax imposed on the colonies in 1773 resulted in America switching from tea to coffee. In the lead up to the Revolutionary War, it became patriotic to sip java instead of tea. The Civil War made the drink more pervasive. Coffee helped energize tired troops, and drinking it became an expression of freedom.

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