crying of a newborn child, 1650s, from Latin vagitus "a crying, squalling," from vagire (see sough (v.)).
Entries linking to vagitus
sough v.
"to make a moaning or murmuring sound," Middle English swouen, from Old English swogan "to sound, roar, howl, rustle, whistle," from Proto-Germanic *swoganan (source also of Old Saxon swogan "to rustle," Gothic gaswogjan "to sigh"), from PIE imitative root *(s)wagh- (compare Greek ēkhō, Latin vagire "to cry, roar, sound"). "From the 16th cent. almost exclusively Sc. & north. dial. until adopted in general literary use in the 19th" [OED]. Related: Soughed; soughing. The noun is late 14c., swough, "a rushing, whispering sound, a murmuring roar," from the verb.