cry

Meaning

Verb

1. To shed tears; to weep.
2. To utter loudly; to call out; to declare publicly.
3. To shout, scream, yell.
4. To forcefully attract attention or proclaim one’s presence.
5. To utter inarticulate sounds, as animals do.
6. To cause to do something, or bring to some state, by crying or weeping.
7. To make oral and public proclamation of; to notify or advertise by outcry, especially things lost or found, goods to be sold, auctioned, etc.
8. To make oral and public proclamation of; to notify or advertise by outcry, especially things lost or found, goods to be sold, auctioned, etc.

Noun

1. A shedding of tears; the act of crying.
2. A shout or scream.
3. Words shouted or screamed.
4. A clamour or outcry.
5. A group of hounds.
6. (obsolete) A pack or company of people.
7. A typical sound made by the species in question.
8. A desperate or urgent request.
9. (obsolete) Common report; gossip.

Pronounced as (IPA)

/kɹaɪ̯/

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 English greten, graten (“to weep, cry, lament”) (from Old English grǣtan and Old Norse gráta). More at greet, regret.
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.