The Greek verb alalazō means to wail loudly, to cry out shrilly, or to clang (as cymbals). It describes the loud crying of mourners and the clanging of noisy instruments.
Paul uses alalazō in 1 Corinthians 13:1 to describe a "clanging cymbal" — the icon of loveless religious noise. Speaking in tongues without love reduces to inarticulate clanging. The word also appears in Mark 5:38, describing the professional mourners at Jairus's house — loud, performative grief that Jesus dismisses before raising the child. This contrast is instructive: true spiritual expression emerges from a heart transformed by love, not from volume or performance.