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yowl

/jaʊl/ noun

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

  1. A very loud utterance (like the sound of an animal).
    his bellow filled the hallway

verb

  1. Cry loudly, as of animals.
    The coyotes were howling in the desert
  2. Utter shrieks, as of cats.

Origin

From Middle English youlen, goulen, from Old Norse gaula (“to low, bellow, howl, scream”), related to Icelandic gaula (“to yell, howl, roar”), Faroese geyla (“to bawl, squall, shout, yell, bellow”), Norwegian gaule (“to roar, howl, whine, weep noisily”), dialectal Swedish gjöla, Scots gowl (“to howl, yell, roar”), Shetlandic Scots gjol. Initial y- possibly influenced by Middle English yollen, yellen (“to yell”).

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