Wail
Middle English: from Old Norse; related to woe.
wiktionary
c. 1300, Middle English weilen, waylen(“to sob, cry, wail”), [1] from Old Norse væla(“to wail”), [2] from væ, vei(“woe”), [3] from Proto-Germanic *wai (whence also Old English wā(“woe”) (English woe)), from Proto-Indo-European *wai.
The verb is first attested in the intransitive sense; the transitive sense developed in mid-14th c.. The noun came from the verb.
From Old Norse val(“choice”). Compare Icelandic velja(“to choose”). More at wale.
etymonline
wail (v.)
c. 1300 (intransitive); mid-14c. (transitive), from Old Norse væla "to lament," from væ "woe" (see woe). Of jazz musicians, "to play very well," attested from 1955, American English slang (wailing "excellent" is attested from 1954). Related: Wailed; wailer.
wail (n.)
c. 1300; see wail (v.).
