Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web
Related Searches
Synonyms
Nearby Words

wailing

 - 5 dictionary results
Wailing
Wailing Online. Free Shipping on 100,000+ Products!
www.Target.com

wail

  [weyl]
Use wailing in a Sentence
–verb (used without object)
1. to utter a prolonged, inarticulate, mournful cry, usually high-pitched or clear-sounding, as in grief or suffering: to wail with pain.
2. to make mournful sounds, as music or the wind.
3. to lament or mourn bitterly.
4. Jazz. to perform exceptionally well.
5. Slang. to express emotion musically or verbally in an exciting, satisfying way.
–verb (used with object)
6. to express deep sorrow for; mourn; lament; bewail: to wail the dead; to wail one's fate.
7. to express in wailing; cry or say in lamentation: to wail one's grief.
–noun
8. the act of wailing.
9. a wailing cry, as of grief, pain, or despair.
10. any similar mournful sound: the wail of an old tune.
Origin:
1300–50; ME weile (v. and n.), perh. deriv. of OE weilā(wei) well-away; cf. OE wǣlan to torment, ON wǣla to wail

Related forms:
wailer, noun
wail⋅ing⋅ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To wailing
Wailing
Wailing Online. Free Shipping on 100,000+ Products!
www.Target.com
wail   (wāl)   
v.   wailed, wail·ing, wails

v.   intr.

  1. To grieve or protest loudly and bitterly; lament. See Synonyms at cry.

  2. To make a prolonged, high-pitched sound suggestive of a cry: The wind wailed through the trees.

v.   tr. Archaic
To lament over; bewail.
n.  

  1. A long, loud, high-pitched cry, as of grief or pain.

  2. A long, loud, high-pitched sound: the wail of a siren.

  3. A loud, bitter protest: A wail of misery went up when new parking restrictions were announced.


[Middle English wailen, probably of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse vāla, vǣla.]
wail'er n., wail'ing·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Slang Dictionary
wail

  1. in.
    to be great. (See also wailing.) : Things really started to wail about midnight when the band really got going.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
wailing

and whaling
  1. mod.
    excellent. (Teens.) : What a whaling guitar!
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

wail  (v.)
c.1330, from O.N. væla "to lament," from væ "woe" (see woe). Of jazz musicians, "to play very well," attested from 1955, Amer.Eng. slang (wailing "excellent" is attested from 1954). The noun is recorded from c.1400.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Search another word or see wailing on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us:
Partner Sites:
Ask AnswersEviteExpediaHotelsHotwireLife123LiveDailyMy Way