The Crying Game

For writers it is useful to have a number of synonyms and idioms to describe the same thing. It strikes me that the many terms for ‘crying’ are particularly useful as it gives the reader an idea of the emotional state of the individual.

Grizzle is British slang – the term has always meant ‘greying’ – and is normally used to describe the crying of an infant over a trivial matter.

Weep was not used in this sense until the end of the 16th century, prior to that it was used as a synonym for ‘shout, cry out’.

Tears is not used in the crying sense until the middle of the 14th century.

Sob is found from the early 13th century – although we had to wait until 1911 to hear our first sob story.

Wails were not heard in the crying sense until the 14th century.

Bawl really means to ‘howl like a dog’ or ‘to reprimand loudly’, the crying sense seems to have evolved as a misunderstanding.

Howl has been used to mean ‘cry aloud’ since the 14th century – and likely came to refer to crying when describing loud weeping.

Snivel really refers to a runny nose, and came to be used for crying as one without the other is unlikely.

Whimper has been used for crying since the early 18th century.

Whine is another transferred word, initially associated with the sound made when crying quietly.

Squall has been used to mean cry aloud since around 1630.

Mewl is correctly the sound made by cats, clearly transferred when considered to be a similar noise when crying.

Blubber has been known since the early 15th century.

Keening has only been used as a synonym for crying since 1811.

Turn on the waterworks originated in the 19th century. It is from a theatrical reference to a mechanism simulating tears on stage and eventually used as an expression.

Piping your eye is rarely used these days, but is an archaic phrase so old it is impossible to know how it originated.

Synonym Etymologies C

Continuing the look at synonyms through the eyes of the etymologist, this time it is the letter C for Cry as in weep.

Cry was originally used to mean 'to utter loudly' and the use of 'cry' as in 'weep' is derived from that. Hence the etymology is the same, but aside from the Spanish cridar, Portuguese gritar and Latin quiritare, all have the same meaning of 'wail, shriek', the source is unknown. What is known, and quite astonishing, is to find that nobody 'cried' before 1852, other synonyms were used, some of which follow.

Weep is a Germanic word and has always meant the same as it does today, it is derived from Proto-Indo-European wab with exactly the same meaning.

Tear can be traced back to the Proto-Indo-European dakru, which was not only used to refer to teardrops, but any liquid drops.

Howl, again, likens tears to crying out loud, and has exactly the same origin as 'owl', both of which are imitative of the whatever they are describing - effectively the phonetic spelling of the sound has become the word.

Bawl comes from the Old Norse baula meaning 'to low like a cow'. A reasonable description I would think.

Snivel is from the Old English snyflan and describes 'the running of the nose', this also linked to tears.

Whimper is another Germanic word of imitative origins.

Sob, held to be crying with short breaths, is first used in Old English to mean 'lament', and is derived from a Germanic root meaning 'to suck'.

Wail is derived from the same source as 'woe' and from Old Norse vaela 'lament'.

Skrike is a word I have only ever heard two people use - my mother and my grandmother. I assumed it was another of my grandmother's odd Black Country expressions - she inspired both my Old Wives Tales and Odd Words and Sayings both of which feature her image on the cover - and yet I find it is known as a regional expression which are usually used to refer to the cry of the crow, thus another imitative word.