the.com/cry
the body's pressure valve, leaking saltwater because words ran out of room
means To shed tears, usually from sadness, pain, or overwhelming emotion — or to call out loudly.
from From Old French 'crier' (to shout, scream, beg), which came into English in the medieval period. The French itself likely traces back to Latin 'quiritare,' meaning to wail or shriek — a word some Romans fancifully linked to calling on the Quirites, the citizens of Rome, for help, though that connection is more story than certainty. The 'shedding tears' sense grew out of the older 'cry out' sense: long before crying meant quiet weeping, it meant making noise, the way a child's sobs and shouts arrive together.
- emotional tears
- chemically differ from onion tears, carrying stress hormones
- human only
- no other animal weeps from feeling
- contagious
- one baby crying triggers a whole nursery
- feels good
- crying releases oxytocin and natural painkillers
- reflex tears
- eyes produce a fresh batch every blink
cry of the owl — barn owls produce a 8-14 second screech used for territorial defense and communication
cry of freedom — abolitionist rallying cry in 1850s america led by william lloyd garrison and frederick douglass