vagitus

V4A1G2I1T1U1S1

noun

The crying of a newborn baby.

OriginLatin vāgītus →
Scrabble 11
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Meanings

nounvagitus (uncountable)
  1. uncountableThe crying of a newborn baby.

    Possibly his first little wolfish howl (for it would be monstrous to think that he or even Remus condescended to a vagitus or cry such as a young tailor or rat-catcher might emit) […]

    1893, Thomas De Quincey, “Memorial Chronology”, in Alexander H. Japp, editor, The Posthumous Works of Thomas De Quincey, volume 2

Origin

  1. Latinvāgītus“crying, wailing”
  2. Englishvagitus

From Latin vāgītus (“crying, wailing”), from vāgiō (“cry, wail”).

More words from Latin

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

vagitus. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/vagitus

MLA

“vagitus.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/vagitus. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “vagitus,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/vagitus.

Source: vagitus on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.