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Added 10 October 2026

caterwaul

/ˈkæt.ə.wɔːl/ noun

In Latin: cauriō Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about caterwaul at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

The yowling sound made by a cat in heat.

verb

Utter shrieks, as of cats.

Origin

From Middle English caterwrawen, from cater (“cat”) + wrawen, wrawlen (“cry like a cat”), equivalent to cat + waul. Compare Low German katerwaulen (“to cry like a cat”) and Middle Dutch cater (“tomcat”) (Dutch kater).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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