wail

name

1. A locality in the Rural City of Horsham, western Victoria, Australia.

noun

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.

1. A prolonged cry, usually high-pitched, especially as of grief or anguish.

   “She let out a loud, doleful wail.”

2. Any similar sound as of lamentation; a howl.

   “The wail of snow-dark winter winds.”

   “A bird's wail in the night.”

3. A sound made by emergency vehicle sirens, contrasted with "yelp" which is higher-pitched and faster.

verb

Etymology: From Old Norse val (“choice”). Compare Icelandic velja (“to choose”). More at wale.

1. Synonym of wale (“to choose; to select”).

   “Wailed wine and metes”