cry English · revision 4301

+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1200|origins=la quiritare}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /kraɪ/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|crien]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) [[bor|fro|crier]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) from [[la-vul|*crītāre|alt=*critare]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) from [[la|quirītāre|t=to cry out, wail, shriek]], of uncertain origin,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) which also gave Italian gridare and Spanish gritar.^(Etymonline) It may be a variant of quirritare “to squeal like a pig”, from an echoic *quis.^(Etymonline) An ancient folk etymology, still given by several dictionaries, explained it as “to call on the Quirites, the Roman citizens, for help”.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Cresswell 2021)^(MWU 2024) The noun is from Old French cri, from the verb.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ “To beg, implore”: probably before 1200, in the Ancrene Riwle, according to Barnhart;^(Barnhart 1988) “to call out, utter” is from the mid-13th century in Etymonline.^(Etymonline) Word Origins also gives ask earnestly, ask loudly, as the first senses.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ To make a noise of grief or pain is from about 1280.^(Barnhart 1988) The sense “to shed tears”, which had belonged to [[weep]], spread through the notion of a loud, vehement sound, and cry had largely replaced weep in everyday speech by the 16th century;^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) Word Origins and Hoad date the sense of weeping itself to the mid-16th century.^(Cresswell 2021)^(Hoad 1986) ''Cry one's eyes out'' is from 1704.^(Etymonline) The noun meant an announcement or proclamation in the late 13th century, and any loud utterance about 1300;^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) a war cry is from the 1540s, the yelping of hounds from the 1530s, and a fit of weeping from 1852.^(Etymonline) ''A far cry'', a long way, was a Scottish phrase popularized by Scott's Rob Roy (1817), from the notion of calling distance.^(Etymonline) ''Crier'' is from 1221 as a surname, and ''crybaby'' from 1851 in American English.^(Barnhart 1988) Etymonline notes that Romance and Slavic languages instead use words that first meant “beat the breast”, as French pleurer.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * a. 1200 – to beg, implore.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1221 – ''crier'', as a surname.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1280 – to make a sound of grief; noun.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 16th century – to weep.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)

+ * 1530s – the cry of hounds.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1540s – a war cry.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1704 – ''cry one's eyes out''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1817 – ''a far cry''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1851 – ''crybaby''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1852 – a fit of weeping.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To shed [[tear]]s, as from grief or pain; to [[weep]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To call out loudly; to [[shout]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Of an animal, to make its characteristic call.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To demand urgently: ''a problem crying out for attention''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To announce in public: ''cry one's wares''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To beg for; to implore.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A loud sound expressing pain, fear or another strong feeling.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A loud call or shout.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A fit of weeping.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # An urgent appeal or [[plea]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A [[slogan]] or rallying call.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # The characteristic call of an animal.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[crybaby]]

+ * [[cry down]]

+ * [[cry off]]

+ * [[cry up]]

+ * [[battle cry]]

+ * [[far cry]]

+ * [[hue and cry]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[crier]]

+ * [[decry]]

+ * [[outcry]]

+ * [[descry]]

+ * [[weep]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}