cry

cry
cry early 13c., "beg, implore," from O.Fr. crier, from V.L. *critare, from L. quiritare "to wail, shriek" (Cf. It. gridare, O.Sp. cridar, Sp., Port. gritar), of uncertain origin; perhaps a variant of quirritare "to squeal like a pig," from *quis, echoic of squealing, despite ancient folk etymology that traces it to "call for the help of the Quirites," the Roman constabulary. The meaning was extended 13c. to weep, which it largely replaced by 16c. As a noun from late 13c. Most languages, like English, use the general word for "cry out, shout, wail" to also mean "weep, shed tears to express pain or grief." Romance and Slavic, however, use words for this whose ultimate meaning is "beat (the breast)," Cf. Fr. pleurer, Sp. llorar, both from L. plorare "cry aloud," but probably originally plodere "beat, clap the hands." Also It. piangere (cognate with Fr. plaindre "lament, pity") from L. plangere, originally "beat," but especially of the breast, as a sign of grief. U.S. colloquial for crying out loud is 1924, probably another euphemism for for Christ's sake.

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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  • Cry — may refer to: * Crying * CRY America (Child Relief and You) * Cry, Yonne, a commune of the Yonne département in Franceongs and albums* Cry (Kym Ryder song) * Cry (Michael Jackson song) * Cry (Faith Hill album) * Cry (Faith Hill song) * Cry (Lynn… …   Wikipedia

  • Cry — (kr[imac]), v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Cried} (kr[imac]d); p. pr. & vb. n. {Crying}.] [F. crier, cf. L. quiritare to raise a plaintive cry, scream, shriek, perh. fr. queri to complain; cf. Skr. cvas to pant, hiss, sigh. Cf. {Quarrel} a brawl,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Cry — (kr?), n.; pl. {Cries} (kr?z). [F. cri, fr. crier to cry. See {Cry}, v. i. ] 1. A loud utterance; especially, the inarticulate sound produced by one of the lower animals; as, the cry of hounds; the cry of wolves. Milton. [1913 Webster] 2. Outcry; …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • cry — [krī] vi. cried, crying [ME crien < OFr crier < L quiritare, to wail, shriek (var. of quirritare, to squeal like a pig < * quis, echoic of a squeal); assoc. in ancient folk etym. with L Quirites, Roman citizens (as if meaning “to call… …   English World dictionary

  • Cry — Cry, v. t. 1. To utter loudly; to call out; to shout; to sound abroad; to declare publicly. [1913 Webster] All, all, cry shame against ye, yet I ll speak. Shak. [1913 Webster] The man . . . ran on,crying, Life! life! Eternal life! Bunyan. [1913… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Cry — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. CRY, sigle composé des trois lettres C, R et Y, peut faire référence à : Carlton Hill en Australie Occidentale, selon la liste des codes AITA des… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Cry d'Er — Géographie Altitude 2 258 m Massif Alpes bernoises Coordonnées …   Wikipédia en Français

  • cry — vb Cry, weep, wail, keen, whimper, blubber mean to show one s grief, pain, or distress by tears and utterances, usually inarticulate utterances. Cry and weep (the first the homelier, the second the more formal term) are frequently interchanged.… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • cry — [n1] weeping and making sad sounds bawl, bawling, bewailing, blubber, blubbering, howl, howling, keening, lament, lamentation, mourning, shedding tears, snivel, snivelling, sob, sobbing, sorrowing, tears, the blues*, wailing, weep, whimpering,… …   New thesaurus

  • cry — ► VERB (cries, cried) 1) shed tears. 2) shout or scream loudly. 3) (of a bird or other animal) make a loud characteristic call. 4) (cry out for) demand as a self evident requirement or solution. 5) ( …   English terms dictionary

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