Literary notes about mewl (AI summary)
The term "mewl" is used with remarkable versatility, often invoking a sense of plaintive, tender sound while also carrying rich dialectal and metaphorical overtones. In some works, it is employed as a poetic metaphor to denote a subtle, evocative musical expression, as seen when a character refers to "A Mewl of Music" ([1]). In other instances, particularly within regional narratives, it captures the soft, whimpering cry often associated with grief or reluctance ([2], [3]), and it is even noted among common synonyms for a kitten's cry ([4]). Moreover, its usage can evoke a broader ambiance, lending an auditory texture to landscapes and situations—such as the feeble sound that marks the vast solitude of a desert ([5]). Altogether, these varied applications demonstrate how "mewl" enriches the narrative with both literal and symbolic layers of meaning.
- And Phil gave what he called "A Mewl of Music."
— from Hildegarde's Harvest by Laura Elizabeth Howe Richards - But just here their play was interrupted by a voice at the fence, saying, "Who got dat mewl?"
— from The Four Corners by Amy Ella Blanchard - hoot : crying , weeping , wail, lamentation , mewl, plaint whimpering.
— from Putnam's Word Book
A Practical Aid in Expressing Ideas Through the Use of an Exact and Varied Vocabulary by Louis A. (Louis Andrew) Flemming - [horse]; bray [donkey, mule, hinny, ass]; mew, mewl [kitten]; meow [cat]; purr [cat]; caterwaul, pule [cats]; baa[obs3], bleat [lamb]; low, moo
— from Roget's Thesaurus by Peter Mark Roget - Left to the solitude in which Bonaparte has left the world, I scarcely hear the feeble generations which pass and mewl on the edge of the desert."
— from The Memoirs of François René Vicomte de Chateaubriand sometime Ambassador to England, Volume 4 (of 6)
Mémoires d'outre-tombe volume 4 by Chateaubriand, François-René, vicomte de