# keening

Pronunciation: say "KEEN-ing" US /ˈkinɪŋ/, UK /ˈkiːnɪŋ/

## Noun

1. Loud, grief-stricken wailing that mourners make after a death, often at a funeral or wake.
   - Simple: Loud, sad crying that people make after someone they love has died.
   - _The women's keening rose and fell through the long night of the wake._
   - _Mourners broke into keening as the coffin was lowered into the grave._
3. An unpleasant, drawn-out wailing sound, harsh to the ear.
   - Simple: A loud, unpleasant sound, like someone wailing.
   - _The keening of the brakes set everyone's teeth on edge._
   - _A thin keening rose from the machinery deep in the factory._

## Verb

2. Present participle and gerund of keen. — present participle and gerund of keen
   - Simple: Present participle of keen. Use this form for the act of crying out loud in grief, happening now.
   - _The mourners spent the night keening over the body of their fallen chief._
   - _A low keening rose from the back of the funeral hall._

## Adjective

4. Sharp and shrill, especially when describing a sound.
   - Simple: Very high and sharp, used especially about a sound.
   - _A keening note from the violin cut through the silent hall._
   - _The keening shriek of the alarm woke the whole building._

## Origin

Formed from "keen" plus the suffix "-ing", which comes from the Irish word "caoin".

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/keening (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).