A Dictionary of the English Language
                        A Digital Edition of the 1755 Classic by Samuel Johnson
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Wail (verb active)

View Scan · View Transcription · from page 2236

View Scan · View Transcription · from page 2236

To Wail. v.a. [gualare, Italian.] To moan; to lament; to bewail.

Wise men ne'er wail their present woes,
But presently prevent the ways to wail. Shakespeare.

Say, if my spouse maintains her royal trust?
Or if no more her absent lord she wails,
But the false woman o'er the wife prevails? Pope.

Sources: Pope, Alexander (393) · Shakespeare's Richard II (40)

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Cite this page: Johnson, Samuel. "Wail (verb active)." A Dictionary of the English Language: A Digital Edition of the 1755 Classic by Samuel Johnson. Edited by Brandi Besalke. Last modified: June 27, 2012. https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/wail-verb-active/.

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