cry means A shedding of tears; the act of crying. It carries an Arena rating of 1797, earned across 13 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, cry ranks #245 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words, #1,115 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #1,814 of 17,127 for Most Vivid Words, #2,559 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books.
cry is pronounced /kɹaɪ/.
Why “cry” is a great word
To shed tears, especially from grief or pain, or to shout or call out loudly; the word collapses the private and public ruptures of human anguish into a single act. From Middle English crien (verb, 13th century) and cry (noun), from Old French crier (verb) and cri (noun), from Vulgar Latin *crītāre, generally thought to derive from Classical Latin quirītāre ("to wail, shriek"). Unlike "weep," which suggests a quieter, restrained sorrow, or "shout," which denotes a loud call stripped of tears, "cry" is the undivided phenomenon—wet and loud, the body betraying itself in stereo. It is the infant's first demand for existence, the widow's collapsed syllable at a graveside, and the soldier's hoarse call across smoke—the sound we make when language has not yet arrived, or when it has finally failed.
Etymology
The verb is from Middle English crien (13th century), from Old French crier, from Vulgar Latin *crītāre, generally thought to derive from Classical Latin quirītāre (Proto-West Germanic *krītan has also been suggested as a source). The noun corresponds to Middle English cry, crie, from Old French cri, a deverbal of crier. etymology note Middle English crien eventually displaced native Middle English galen (“to cry out”) (from Old English galan), Middle English greden (“to cry out”) (from Old English grǣdan), Middle English yermen (“to bellow, mourn, lament”) (from Old English ġierman), Middle English hooen, hoen (“to cry out”) (from Old Norse hóa), Middle English remen (“to cry, shout”) (from Old English hrīeman, compare Old English hrēam (“noise, outcry, lamentation, alarm”)), Middle Engli
noun
- A shedding of tears; the act of crying.e.g.“After we broke up, I retreated to my room for a good cry.”
- A shout or scream.e.g.“I heard a cry from afar.”
- Words shouted or screamed.e.g.“a battle cry”
- A clamour or outcry.e.g.“His pupil, Maimonides, that he might not be under the necessity of violating the laws of friendship and gratitude, by joining the general cry against Averroes, left Corduba.” — 1812, Alexander Chalmers, The General Biographical Dictionary:
- A group of hounds.e.g.“A cry more tunable / Was never hollaed to, nor cheered with horn.” — c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “A Midsommer Nights Dreame”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Fol
- A pack or company of people.e.g.“Would not this […] get me a fellowship in a cry of players?” — c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggar
- A typical sound made by the species in question.e.g.“"Woof" is the cry of a dog, while "neigh" is the cry of a horse.”
- A desperate or urgent request.
- Common report; gossip.e.g.“The cry goes that you shall marry her.” — c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iagg
verb
- To shed tears; to weep, especially in anger or sadness.e.g.“That sad movie always makes me cry.”
- To utter loudly; to call out; to declare publicly.e.g.“All, all, cry shame against ye, yet I'll speak.” — c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iagg
- To shout, scream, yell.e.g.“And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried with a loud voice.” — 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Matthew 27:46:
- To forcefully attract attention or proclaim one’s presence.e.g.“My secrets cry aloud.
I have no need for tongue.” — 1941, Theodore Roethke, “Open House”, in Open House, New York, N.Y.: Alfred A[braham] Knopf, →OCLC; republished in The Collected Poems of Theodore Roethke, London: Faber and Faber […], 1968, →OCLC, pa
- To utter inarticulate sounds, as animals do.e.g.“the young ravens which cry” — 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Psalms 147:9:
- To cause to do something, or bring to some state, by crying or weeping.e.g.“Tonight I’ll cry myself to sleep.”
- To make oral and public proclamation of; to notify or advertise by outcry, especially things lost or found, goods to be sold, auctioned, etc.e.g.“to cry goods”
- To make oral and public proclamation of; to notify or advertise by outcry, especially things lost or found, goods to be sold, auctioned, etc.; Hence, to publish the banns of, as for marriage.e.g.“I should not be surprised if they were cried in church next Sabbath.” — 1845, Sylvester Judd, Margaret: A Tale of the Real and the Ideal, Blight and Bloom; Including Sketches of a Place Not Before Described, Called Mons Christi:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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