Meanings
noundeath wail (plural death wails)
plural death wails · alternative death-wail
- An intense mournful cry given by mourners upon someone's death.
A sudden, long-drawn howl curdled out from across the river. A human dingo might had made such an awful sound. Merry threw out helpless hands. ‘He’s gone!’ he said. ‘The death-wail. I’ve been listening for that all the morning.’
1937, Ion L. Idriess, Over the Range, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, published 1947, page 214
Cite this entry
APA
death wail. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/death%20wail
MLA
“death wail.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/death%20wail. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “death wail,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/death%20wail.
Source: death wail on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.