what is the meaning of mewling

Mewling is a verb that means to cry weakly or softly, like a baby or young animal. It is often used to describe the pitiful sound of kittens as they cry for their mother. The word is imitative, meaning it was formed by mimicking the sound it describes. Shakespeare used the word in his famous "All the worlds a stage" speech from As You Like It, describing an infant "mewling and puking in the nurses arms".