mewl

verb
/ˈmjuːl/CA

Etymology

From 1599 or earlier (1530 in a Scottish document), apparently from Shakespeare with this spelling. Perhaps from Middle English mewen (“to whimper”) + -le (frequentative suffix).

  1. derived from mewen#Verb_2 — “to whimper

Definitions

  1. To cry weakly with a soft, high-pitched sound

    To cry weakly with a soft, high-pitched sound; to whimper; to whine.

    • And one man in his time plays many parts, / His acts being seven ages. At first the infant, / Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms; / Then the whining school-boy, […]
    • You're a pretty clog to be tied to a man for life, you mewling, white-faced cat!
    • My father started rubbing and rubbing on Mittens, scruffying her fur the wrong way, and she mewled her protests.
  2. A soft cry or whimper

    A soft cry or whimper; an act of mewling.

    • There would have been total silence if it hadn't been for the sea nearby, mewling. Indeed, that same mewl added to the sleepy image that filled the dormant house.
    • I let out another moaning mewl, biting my lip as I awaited whatever he planned.
    • The scratching stopped, and there was another piteous mewl from behind the door.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for mewl. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA