To make a long, loud crying sound like a wolf or dog; or to laugh or cry loudly.
Howl comes from Middle English and Old English origins, possibly imitative of the sound itself. It's been used since at least the 1300s to describe both animal sounds and human expressions.
Wolves and dogs 'howl' to communicate over long distances and to make their location known—when we describe someone howling with laughter, we're using the same word for a completely different emotional expression!
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