what is a wailer

A "wailer" is primarily defined as one who wails or laments, often making prolonged, mournful cries or sounds expressing grief or pain. It can also refer to a professional mourner hired to lament at funerals. Historically, in mining, a "wailer" was a boy employed to pick out stones or pyrites from coal after screening. The term originates from Middle English, derived from the verb "wail," meaning to utter a loud, high-pitched cry or lamentation.