mewl
verb
No English definition recorded for this entry.
L17886 on Wikidata ↗Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈmjuːl/
noun
Etymology: From 1599 or earlier (1530 in a Scottish document), apparently from Shakespeare with this spelling. Perhaps from Middle English mewen (“to whimper”) + -le (frequentative suffix).
- A soft cry or whimper; an act of mewling.
“There would have been total silence if it hadn't been for the sea nearby, mewling. Indeed, that same mewl added to the sleepy image that filled the dormant house.”
“I let out another moaning mewl, biting my lip as I awaited whatever he planned.”
verb
Etymology: From 1599 or earlier (1530 in a Scottish document), apparently from Shakespeare with this spelling. Perhaps from Middle English mewen (“to whimper”) + -le (frequentative suffix).
- To cry weakly with a soft, high-pitched sound; to whimper; to whine.
“And one man in his time plays many parts, / His acts being seven ages. At first the infant, / Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms; / Then the whining school-boy, […]”
“You're a pretty clog to be tied to a man for life, you mewling, white-faced cat!”