A Wail Is Long, Loud and Grieving
To wail is to cry out in grief or pain. Professional wailing was once a paid occupation.
To wail is to give a prolonged high-pitched cry of grief or pain. Professional mourners were employed to wail at funerals across many cultures and for thousands of years: they appear in ancient Egypt, in the Hebrew Bible, in Greece and Rome, and the Irish *keening* tradition survived into the twentieth century. Loud public grief was a service that could be hired. *Wail* is from Old Norse *væla*, related to *woe*, and the sound of the word itself is doing much of the work.
- A long cry. *A wail of grief.*
- To cry out. *Wailing loudly.*
- A siren's sound. *The wail of a siren.*
- Woe — a relative. *Woe.*
- Old Norse — *væla*. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb | wail | Wailing. |
| Noun | wail | A wail. |
| Past | wailed | Wailed. |
| Related | woe | Woe. |
| Related | keen | To keen. |
- A wail rose from the crowd.Grief.
- The siren wailed.Sound.
- Mourners were paid to wail.History.
Professional mourning
- Ancient Egypt employed mourners in funeral processions
- The Hebrew Bible refers to skilled wailing women
- Greek and Roman funerals hired them routinely
- Irish keening survived into the twentieth century
- The practice continues in parts of Asia and the Middle East
Old Norse *væla*, to lament, related to *woe*.
Were mourners really paid to wail?
Yes, across many cultures and millennia, from ancient Egypt to Irish keening in the twentieth century.
What is the difference between wailing and moaning?
A wail is loud, long and high-pitched; a moan is low and usually quieter.