squall

What it means

1. To cry or wail loudly.

   The orchestra burst into a sudden loud squalling.

   1934 October, George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], Burmese Days, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, Publishers, →OCLC

   5 more examples

   Sow ran and squall'd, While Jack he bawl'd, And Jill join'd in the choir, Dog Ball being near, Bit sow by the ear, And threw Jack into the mire.

   1810, Jack and Jill, and old Dame Gill, York: J. Kendrew, page 12

   Squalling was the word for it, Pew's anger rose so high at these objections; till at last, his passion completely taking the upper hand, he struck at them right and left in his blindness, and his stick sounded heavily on more than one.

   1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island, London; Paris: Cassell & Company, published 14 November 1883, →OCLC

   Squalling like an infuriated cat, the shadow crashed down

   1916, Jack London, The Red One

   Some night-bird, belike, or a sea-gull squalling below the headland.

   1938, Norman Lindsay, Age of Consent, 1st Australian edition, Sydney, N.S.W.: Ure Smith, published 1962, →OCLC, page 39

   she wrapped the squalling, wriggling baby tightly into the fine cotton sheet

   1998, Anne McCafferey, Masterharper of Pern

2. To fall suddenly and forcefully, as if a squall.

   Rain squalled in heavy sheets across the street.

   2015 10, Cindy Williams, The Pounamu Prophecy, Rhiza Press, →ISBN

   4 more examples

   […] rain squalled fretfully against the schoolhouse roof. Although it had stopped by the time the afternoon recess was due, Miss Willie decided that it was too cold and raw for the children to be out a full half hour, so she sent them[…]

   1994 September 1, Janice Holt Giles, Miss Willie, University Press of Kentucky, →ISBN, page 165

   […] of squalling rain and a blustering westerly wind.

   2009 March 1, Helen Hollick, Kingmaking: Book One of the Pendragon's Banner Trilogy, Sourcebooks, Inc., →ISBN, page 5

   Rain squalled sudden against the window. The Old Writer cursed and shouldered out the door.

   2012 July 31, A. William James, Book Thirteen, eBook Partnership, →ISBN

   […] the sky opened up into a cloud-burst of squalling rain.

   2018 May 30, Allan W. Waddy, Buckshot & Johnnycakes, FriesenPress, →ISBN, page 18

In a sentence

Sow ran and squall'd, While Jack he bawl'd, And Jill join'd in the choir, Dog Ball being near, Bit sow by the ear, And threw Jack into the mire.

1810, Jack and Jill, and old Dame Gill, York: J. Kendrew, page 12

Where it comes from

1. Old Norseskvala“to cry out”
2. Middle English*squalen
3. Englishsquall

From Middle English *squalen and squelen (“to cry, scream, squall”), from Old Norse skvala (“to cry out”), probably ultimately imitative with influence from squeal and bawl. Cognate with Swedish skvala (“to gush, pour down”), Norwegian skval (“sudden rush of water”). The noun is probably from the verb.