keening
Origin of keening
keen2
- a wailing lament for the dead.
- to wail in lamentation for the dead.
- to mourn for by or with such keening or wailing: keening his mother while kneeling at her grave.
Origin of keen2
Related Words
griefwailingweepingsobbingsobhowllamentmoangrowlgroanyelpwailroarwhimperhootoutcryshrieksighcarpgrumbleExamples from the Web for keening
Contemporary Examples
She crinkles her brow and then, on cue, she emits a keening howl.
But nothing they essayed could fully drown out the keening of their lust to return to high office.
Tony Blair May Be Planning a Political Comeback but in What Role It’s Hard to ImaginePeter Popham
May 5, 2012
Historical Examples
The women are keening softly and swaying themselves with a slow movement.
Riders to the SeaJ. M. Synge
It rose and fell, rose and fell, then died away like the keening of a lost soul.
The End of TimeWallace West
The room was filled with the keening staccato of the alien transmission.
GreylornJohn Keith Laumer
The huge brain was alert now, with a supernal sense of keening.
Walls of AcidHenry Hasse
Keening in from the lake, the wind made him stagger backwards.
The Spell of the White SturgeonJames Arthur Kjelgaard
keen1
- eager or enthusiastic
- (postpositive foll by on) fond (of); devoted (to)keen on a girl; keen on golf
- intellectually acutea keen wit
- (of sight, smell, hearing, etc) capable of recognizing fine distinctions
- having a sharp cutting edge or point
- extremely cold and penetratinga keen wind
- intense or stronga keen desire
- mainly British extremely low so as to be competitivekeen prices
- slang, mainly US and Canadian very good
Word Origin
keen2
- to lament the dead
- a dirge or lament for the dead
Word Origin
Word Origin and History for keening
keen
adj.
c.1200, from Old English cene "bold brave," later "clever, wise," from Proto-Germanic *kan- "be able to" (see can). Original prehistoric senses seem to have been both "brave" and "skilled;" cognate with Old Norse kænn "skillful, wise," Middle Dutch coene "bold," Dutch koen, Old High German kuon "pugnacious, strong," German kühn "bold, daring." Sense of "eager" is from mid-14c. The meaning "sharp" is peculiar to English: of blades and edges early 13c., of sounds c.1400, of eyesight c.1720. A popular word of approval in teenager and student slang from c.1900.
keen
v.
"lament," 1811, from Irish caoinim "I weep, wail, lament," from Old Irish coinim "I wail." Related: Keened; keening. As a noun from 1830.