Definitions and meaning of cry
cry
English
Etymology
The verb is from Middle English crien (13th century), from Old French crier, from Vulgar Latin *crītāre, generally thought to derive from Classical Latin quirītāre (Proto-West Germanic *krītan has also been suggested as a source). The noun corresponds to Middle English cry, crie, from Old French cri, a deverbal of crier.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /kɹaɪ/
-
- Homophone: krai
- Rhymes: -aɪ
Verb
cry (third-person singular simple present cries, present participle crying, simple past and past participle cried)
- (intransitive) To shed tears; to weep. Especially in anger or sadness
- (transitive) To utter loudly; to call out; to declare publicly.
- (ambitransitive) To shout, scream, yell.
- (intransitive, figuratively) To forcefully attract attention or proclaim one’s presence.
- (intransitive) To utter inarticulate sounds, as animals do.
- (transitive) To cause to do something, or bring to some state, by crying or weeping.
- To make oral and public proclamation of; to notify or advertise by outcry, especially things lost or found, goods to be sold, auctioned, etc.
- Hence, to publish the banns of, as for marriage.
Conjugation
Synonyms
- bawl
- blubber
- sob
- wail
- weep
- whimper
- See also Thesaurus:weep
- See also Thesaurus:shout
Antonyms
Derived terms
Descendants
Translations
Noun
cry (plural cries)
- A shedding of tears; the act of crying.
- A shout or scream.
- Words shouted or screamed.
- a battle cry
- A clamour or outcry.
- (collectively) A group of hounds.
-
- 1667, Milton, Paradise Lost, Book II, in Edward Hawkins, The Poetical Works of John Milton: With Notes of Various Authors, Vol. I, W. Baxter, J. Parker, G. B. Whittaker (publs., 1824) pages 124 to 126, lines 648 to 659.
- (by extension, obsolete, derogatory) A pack or company of people.
- (of an animal) A typical sound made by the species in question.
- A desperate or urgent request.
- (obsolete) Common report; gossip.
Derived terms
Translations
See also
References
- Noah Webster (1828) “cry”, in An American Dictionary of the English Language: […], volume I (A–I), New York, N.Y.: […] S. Converse; printed by Hezekiah Howe […], →OCLC.
- “cry”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “cry”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
Anagrams
Middle English
Etymology 1
Borrowed from Old French cri, from crier; compare crien.
Alternative forms
- cri, crie, crye, kri, krie, kry
Pronunciation
Noun
cry (plural cries)
- A shout or yell; a loud vocalisation:
- A call of distress or sorrow.
- A plea for help or justice.
- An announcement or report:
- A proclamation or directive.
- A call for people; a summons.
- (by extension) A military force; a troop.
- The characteristic sound of an animal.
- (rare) The sound of a horn or trumpet.
Descendants
- English: cry
- Scots: cry
- Yola: crie, cry
References
- “crī(e, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
Etymology 2
Verb
cry
- alternative form of crien
Middle French
Noun
cry m (plural crys)
- alternative form of cri
Scots
Etymology
Middle English, from Old French crier.
Verb
cry (third-person singular simple present cries, present participle cryin, simple past cried, past participle cried)
- to call, to give a name to
Yola
Noun
cry
- alternative form of crie
Verb
cry
- alternative form of crie
References
- Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828) William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 108
Source: wiktionary.org