caterwaul
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Contents |
[edit] English
[edit] Etymology
From Middle English caterwrawe (one of numerous earlier variants); from cater (“cat”) + wrawen/wrawlen (“cry like a cat”).
[edit] Pronunciation
- (RP) IPA: /ˈkæt.ə.wɔːl/
- (US) IPA: /ˈkæt.ɚ.wɑl/, /ˈkæt.ɚ.wɔl/
- (cot–caught merger, northern cities vowel shift) IPA: /ˈkæt.ɚ.wɑl/
-
Audio (US) (file)
[edit] Verb
caterwaul (third-person singular simple present caterwauls, present participle caterwauling, simple past and past participle caterwauled)
- (intransitive) To cry as cats in rutting time; to make a harsh, offensive noise.
- (intransitive) To have a noisy argument, like cats.
[edit] Synonyms
- See also Wikisaurus:argument
[edit] Translations
to cry as cats
to have a noisy argument
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked
[edit] Related terms
[edit] Noun
caterwaul (plural caterwauls)
- A yowling.
- A noisy quarrel.
[edit] References
- caterwaul in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
