ululate - Wiktionary, the free dictionary (original) (raw)

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

Borrowed from Latin ululō, ululātus, of imitative origin. Cognate with Spanish aullar (“to howl”) and ulular (“to hoot”), and French ululer (“to howl”).

ululate (third-person singular simple present ululates, present participle ululating, simple past and past participle ululated)

  1. To howl loudly or prolongedly in lamentation or joy.
    Synonyms: bay, howl, wail
    • 1915, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Valley of Fear:
      Should I ever marry, Watson, I should hope to inspire my wife with some feeling which would prevent her from being walked off by a housekeeper when my corpse was lying within a few yards of her. It was badly stage-managed; for even the rawest investigators must be struck by the absence of the usual feminine ululation.
    • 2025 June 30, Andrei Popoviciu, “In Sudan, a bride and her village celebrate love in a time of war”, in The Christian Science Monitor‎[1], archived from the original on 3 July 2025:
      Women dance in tight circles, ululating with joy, while groups of men sit nearby watching.
  2. To produce a rapid and prolonged series of sharp noises with one's voice.

to howl loudly

ululate

  1. inflection of ululare:
    1. second-person plural present indicative
    2. second-person plural imperative

ululate f pl

  1. feminine plural of ululato

ululāte

  1. second-person plural present active imperative of ululō

ululate

  1. second-person singular voseo imperative of ulular combined with te