The fearful matrons raise a screaming cry.
Dryden.
Scree (skr), n. A pebble; a stone; also, a heap of stones or rocky
débris. [Prov. Eng.] Southey.
Screech (skrch), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Screeched (?); p. pr. & vb. n.
Screeching.] [Also formerly, scritch, OE. skriken, skrichen, schriken,
of Scand. origin; cf. Icel. skrækja to shriek, to screech, skrkja to
titter, Sw. skrika to shriek, Dan. skrige; also Gael. sgreach, sgreuch,
W. ysgrechio, Skr. kharj to creak. Cf. Shriek, v., Scream, v.] To utter
a harsh, shrill cry; to make a sharp outcry, as in terror or acute
pain; to scream; to shriek. "The screech owl, screeching loud." Shak.
Screech, n. A harsh, shrill cry, as of one in acute pain or in fright;
a shriek; a scream.
Screech bird, or Screech thrush (Zoöl.), the fieldfare; -- so called
from its harsh cry before rain. -- Screech rain. -- Screech hawk
(Zoöl.), the European goatsucker; -- so called from its note. [Prov.
Eng.] -- Screech owl. (Zoöl.) (a) A small American owl (Scops asio),
either gray or reddish in color. (b) The European barn owl. The name is
applied also to other species.
Screech"ers (?), n. pl. (Zoöl.) The picarian birds, as distinguished
from the singing birds.
Screech"y (?), a. Like a screech; shrill and harsh.
Screed (skrd), n. [Prov. E., a shred, the border of a cap. See Shred.]
1. (Arch.) (a) A strip of plaster of the thickness proposed for the
coat, applied to the wall at intervals of four or five feet, as a
guide. (b) A wooden straightedge used to lay across the plaster screed,
as a limit for the thickness of the coat.