# wail

> English word · Verb · IPA /weɪl/ · frequency rank #33,078

## Definitions
1. To cry out, as in sorrow or anguish.
2. To weep, lament persistently or bitterly.
3. To make a noise like mourning or crying.
4. To lament; to bewail; to grieve over.
5. To perform with great liveliness and force.

## Etymology
c. 1300, Middle English weilen, waylen (“to sob, cry, wail”), from Old Norse væla (“to wail”), from væ, vei (“woe”), from Proto-Germanic *wai (whence also Old English wā (“woe”) (English woe)), from Proto-Indo-European *wáy.
The verb is first attested in the intransitive sense; the transitive sense developed in mid-14ᵗʰ c.. The noun came from the verb.

## Easily confused with
- **wi** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wail-vs-wi)
- **WL** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wail-vs-wl)
- **was** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wail-vs-was)
- **way** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wail-vs-way)
- **war** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wail-vs-war)
- **win** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wail-vs-win)
- **wit** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wail-vs-wit)
- **wax** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wail-vs-wax)
- **wan** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wail-vs-wan)
- **Wii** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wail-vs-wii)
- **wig** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wail-vs-wig)
- **WAL** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wail-vs-wal)
- **Wei** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wail-vs-wei)
- **wat** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wail-vs-wat)
- **wis** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wail-vs-wis)
- **wiz** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wail-vs-wiz)
- **Wie** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wail-vs-wie)
- **WAP** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wail-vs-wap)
- **WAV** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wail-vs-wav)
- **wid** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wail-vs-wid)

## Common misspellings (4)
`awil`, `waill`, `wial`, `wwail`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/wail