n. & v.
n. 1 a prolonged plaintive inarticulate loud high-pitched cry of pain, grief, etc. 2 a sound like or suggestive of this.
v. 1 intr. utter a wail. 2 intr. lament or complain persistently or bitterly. 3 intr. (of the wind etc.) make a sound like a person wailing. 4 tr. poet. or rhet. bewail; wail over. Wailing Wall a high wall in Jerusalem said to stand on the site of Herod's temple, where Jews traditionally pray and lament on Fridays. wailer n. wailful adj. poet. wailingly adv.
[ ME f. ON, rel. to WOE ]