caterwaul

English

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caterwaul

/ˈkæt.ə.wɔːl/ UK
/ˈkæt.ɚ.wɔl/ US
/ˈkæt.ɚ.wɑl/ cot caught merger

Where it comes from

From Middle English caterwrawen, from cater (“cat”) + wrawen, wrawlen (“cry like a cat”), equivalent to cat + waul. Compare Low German katerwaulen (“to cry like a cat”) and Middle Dutch cater (“tomcat”) (Dutch kater).

verb caterwauls · caterwauling · caterwauled

intransitive To cry as cats in heat; to make a harsh, offensive noise.
intransitive To have a noisy argument, like cats.

noun caterwauls

A yowling.
A noisy quarrel.

Translations

Every language

verb to cry as cats

Français	feuler

verb to have a noisy argument

Français	faire du chahut

noun noisy quarrel, particularly of cats

Deutsch	Katzenjammer

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MLA

"caterwaul." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/caterwaul. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

caterwaul. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/caterwaul

Chicago

"caterwaul." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/caterwaul.

BibTeX

@misc{caterwaul_2026,
  title = {caterwaul},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/caterwaul},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}