caterwaul
[kat-er-wawl]
- to utter long wailing cries, as cats in rutting time.
- to utter a similar sound; howl or screech.
- to quarrel like cats.
Show More
- the cry of a cat in rutting time.
- any similar sound.
Show More
Origin of caterwaul
1350–1400; Middle English cater(wawen) (equivalent to cater tomcat (< Middle Dutch) + wawen to howl, Old English wāwan to blow, said of the wind) + waul, variant of wail
Synonyms
See more synonyms for caterwaul on Thesaurus.com2. wail, shriek, squawk, yowl.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for caterwaul
Contemporary Examples
And so it happens that the people who caterwaul about America being weak in the world become the very people who make it weaker.
Historical Examples
At once she began to meouw and caterwaul with all her might.
Dutch Fairy Tales for Young FolksWilliam Elliot Griffis
It reached the edge of the pool, spread out all its legs with a caterwaul of despair, and went headlong into the water.
Charlie to the RescueR.M. Ballantyne
We caterwaul and scratch and steal, just as human beings in our situation would take to drink.
DaisyMiranda Eliot Swan
Caterwaul, kat′ėr-wawl, n. the shriek or cry emitted by the cat when in heat.
Consequently, what does your baby do but betake itself to a practical study of the caterwaul!
caterwaul
- to make a yowling noise, as a cat on heat
Show More
- a shriek or yell made by or sounding like a cat on heat
Show More
Word Origin
C14: of imitative origin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for caterwaul
v.
late 14c., caterwrawen, perhaps from Low German katerwaulen "cry like a cat," or formed in English from cater, from Middle Dutch cater "tomcat" + Middle English waul "to yowl," apparently from Old English *wrag, *wrah "angry," of uncertain origin but all somehow imitative. Related: Caterwauled; caterwauling.
Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper