Etymology From Middle English baulen, from Old Norse baula (“to bellow”) and/or Medieval Latin baulō (“to bark”), both from Proto-Germanic *bau- (“to roar”), conflated with Proto-Germanic *bellaną, *ballijaną, *buljaną (“to shout, low, roar”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- (“to sound, roar”). Cognate with Faroese belja (“to low”), Icelandic baula (“to moo, low”), Swedish böla (“to bellow, low”). More at bell.
1
To shout or utter in a loud and intense manner.
commanders bawling
He jumped upon the saddle with another yell as he pushed the machine before him, and the next instant was whirling down the thoroughfare with the rapidity of an express train, bawling for people to "Stand clear!"1900, T. Jenkins Hains, Mr. Trunnell, Mate of the Ship "Pirate":
2 more examples
"I'm lord of this manor!" he bawled. "I'm Patroon Varick, and I'll do as I please!"1902, Robert W. Chambers, The Maid-at-Arms:
Spade took two long steps and caught Effie Perine by the shoulders. "She didn't get there?" he bawled into her frightened face1930, Dashiell Hammet, The Maltese Falcon, New York, N.Y.; London: Alfred A[braham] Knopf, →OCLC, page 140:
2
To wail; to give out a blaring cry.
children bawling
cattle bawling
1 more example
Why did you bawl out just as I was aiming? Who can aim with a fellow bawling in his ear? I've lost the birds through it.1859, George Meredith, chapter 5, in The Ordeal of Richard Feverel. A History of Father and Son. […], volume I, London: Chapman and Hall, →OCLC, page 80:
Etymology From Middle English baulen, from Old Norse baula (“to bellow”) and/or Medieval Latin baulō (“to bark”), both from Proto-Germanic *bau- (“to roar”), conflated with Proto-Germanic *bellaną, *ballijaną, *buljaną (“to shout, low, roar”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- (“to sound, roar”). Cognate with Faroese belja (“to low”), Icelandic baula (“to moo, low”), Swedish böla (“to bellow, low”). More at bell.
1
A loud, intense shouting or wailing.
[…] that clear soprano, in nursery, rings out a shower of innocent idiotisms over the half-stripped baby, and suspends the bawl upon its lips.1863, Sheridan Le Fanu, The House by the Churchyard: