wailer
/ˈweɪlɚ/noun
wailer is a noun meaning “One who wails or laments” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is spelled W-A-I-L-E-R, and it appears about once in every 21 million words in written English (wordfreq, 2021 data). The plural of wailer is wailers.
What does wailer mean?
noun
- 1
One who wails or laments.
- 2
A professional hired mourner.
- 3
A boy employed to pick out stones, pyrites, etc. remaining in the coal after it is screened.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you pronounce wailer?
- UK /ˈweɪlə/
- US /ˈweɪlɚ/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-wailer.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of wailer
- wailers plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How common is wailer?
Wailer appears about once in every 21 million words in written English, the 138,319th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Words people confuse with wailer
Sounds like: whaler (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Wailer in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Klagender, Klagende |
| Spanish | gemidor , plañidera, llorona, endechadera |
| French | pleureuse |
| Portuguese | carpideira |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does wailer come from?
From Middle English wayler, weilere; equivalent to wail + -er.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).