Etymology
1. c.1225, from O.Fr.
crier, from L.
quiritare "to wail, shriek," var. of
quirritare "to squeal like a pig," from
*quis, echoic of squealing, despite ancient folk etymology that traces it to "call for the help of the Quirites," the Roman constabulary. The meaning was extended 13c. to
weep, which it largely replaced by 16c. Most languages, like Eng., use the general word for "cry out, shout, wail" to also mean "weep, shed tears to express pain or grief." Romance and Slavic, however, use words for this whose ultimate meaning is "beat (the breast)," cf. Fr.
pleurer, Sp.
llorar, both from L.
plorare "cry aloud," but probably originally
plodere "beat, clap the hands." Also It.
piangere (cognate with Fr.
plaindre "lament, pity") from L.
plangere, originally "beat," but especially of the breast, as a sign of grief.
Crybaby is first recorded 1851, Amer.Eng. U.S. colloquial
for crying out loud is 1924, probably another euphemism for
for Christ's sake.
2. 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.
3. etymology note
4. 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 English greten, graten (“to weep, cry, lament”) (from Old English grǣtan and Old Norse gráta). More at greet, regret.
5. Already in the 13th century, the meaning was extended to include the sense "to shed tears" (natively weep); cry used in this sense had mostly replaced weep by the 16th century. See: Middle English '
crien', Old French '
crier', Middle English '
crien', Old English '
galan', Middle English '
remen'.
Verbs referencing "cry"
Sranan
krei, Tok Pisin krai, Tok Pisin karai, Latin
gingrio, Frisian, Saterlandic kriete.