bleat / blēt
verb to utter the wavering cry of a sheep or goat The feeble howl with the wolves, bray with the asses, and bleat with the sheep. Madame Roland, 1754-1793 to talk with a whine in the voice The dull rhythmic tramp of the soldiers’ boots formed the background to Goldstein’s bleating voice. From ‘1984’ by George Orwell, 1903-1950 to whimper Nothing discourages unwanted questions as much as a flow of pious bleating. From ‘A Storm of Swords’ by George R. R. Martin, 1948- noun the sound made by a sheep or goat Essentially your truest poetic sentence is as free and lawless as a lamb’s bleat. Henry David Thoreau, 1817-1862 a feeble protest; a whimper Centaine hugged the infant so hard that Shasa gave a little bleat of protest. From ‘The Burning Shore’ by Wilbur Smith, 1933- a sound similar to that of a sheep or goat And thanks to the generosity of some village residents, the sounds of those warning bleats from the trains that pass through will stop. Jennie Key, ?-