keening
[kee-ning]
noun
Origin of keening
keen
2[keen]
noun
verb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
Origin of keen
21805–15; < Irish caoine (noun), caoin- (v., stem of caoinim) lament
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Related Words for keening
grief, wailing, weeping, sobbing, sob, howl, lament, moan, growl, groan, yelp, wail, roar, whimper, hoot, outcry, shriek, sigh, carp, grumbleExamples from the Web for keening
Contemporary Examples of keening
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 of keening
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
keen
1adjective
Word Origin for keen
Old English cēne; related to Old High German kuoni brave, Old Norse koenn wise; see can 1, know
keen
2verb (intr)
noun
Word Origin for keen
C19: from Irish Gaelic caoine, from Old Irish coīnim I wail
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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keen
keen
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper