Making a long, loud, mournful cry like a wolf or dog, or used to describe something extremely funny or extreme.
From Old English 'hūl' meaning to cry out. Related to 'yowl.' The word evolved to describe both animal sounds and intense human expression, including modern slang for 'very funny.'
Wolves howl to communicate across vast distances—their calls can travel 10 miles through forest. When we say something is 'howling funny,' we're using an animal sound to express extreme emotion, something humans have done in storytelling for thousands of years.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.