mewl

English

Etymology

From 1599 or earlier (1530 in a Scottish document), apparently from Shakespeare with this spelling. Perhaps from Middle English mewen (“to whimper”) +‎ -le (frequentative suffix).

Pronunciation

• (Canada, UK) IPA^(key): /ˈmjuːl/
• Rhymes: -uːl
• Homophone: mule

Verb

mewl (third-person singular simple present mewls, present participle mewling, simple past and past participle mewled)

1. To cry weakly with a soft, high-pitched sound; to whimper; to whine.
   • c. 1598–1600 (date written), William Shakespeare, “As You Like It”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):

     And one man in his time plays many parts, / His acts being seven ages. At first the infant, / Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms; / Then the whining school-boy, […]

   • 1842 December – 1844 July, Charles Dickens, The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1844, →OCLC:

     You're a pretty clog to be tied to a man for life, you mewling, white-faced cat!

   • 2007, Kiesa Kay, Mimosa May, Tornado Alley, page 11:

     My father started rubbing and rubbing on Mittens, scruffying her fur the wrong way, and she mewled her protests.

   • 2015 April 16, Richard P. Grant, “Sex and the successful fundraiser”, in The Guardian‎^[1]:

     The neighbours’ cats stroll into my garden, mewling and hoping for a little bit of in flagrante. Honey bees brazenly assault the cherry blossom.

Derived terms

• mewler

Translations

to cry weakly

• Czech: mňoukat (cs) impf, kňourat impf
• Finnish: inistä (fi)
• French: pleurnicher (fr), geindre (fr)
• German: wimmern (de), quäken (de)
• Russian: хныкать (ru) (xnykatʹ)

Noun

mewl (plural mewls)

1. A soft cry or whimper; an act of mewling.
   • 1995, Lídia Jorge, Natália Costa, Ronald W. Sousa, transl., The Murmuring Coast, page 89:

     There would have been total silence if it hadn't been for the sea nearby, mewling. Indeed, that same mewl added to the sleepy image that filled the dormant house.

   • 2009, Mickey Erlach, Cruising for Bad Boys, page 61:

     I let out another moaning mewl, biting my lip as I awaited whatever he planned.

   • 2010, Chris Wooding, Malice, page 15:

     The scratching stopped, and there was another piteous mewl from behind the door.

Translations

soft cry or whimper

• Czech: mňoukání (cs) n, kňourání n
• Finnish: ininä (fi)