trill

From the Origin:
1635–45; < It trillo quaver or warble in singing ≪
Gmc; cf. D give trillen to vibrate, late ME trillen to shake or rock (something)
---
verb (used with object)

1. to sing or play with a vibratory or quavering effect.

2. Phonetics. to produce (a sound) with a trill.

3. (of birds, insects, etc.) to sing or utter in a succession of rapidly alternating sounds.

---
verb (used without object)

4. to resound vibrantly, or with a rapid succession of sounds, as the voice, song, or laughter.

5. to utter or make a sound or succession of sounds resembling such singing, as a bird, frog, grasshopper, or person laughing.

6. to execute a shake or trill with the voice or on a musical instrument.

7. Phonetics. to execute a trill, esp. with the tongue, as while singing, talking, or whistling.

---
noun

8. the act or sound of trilling.

9. Music. a rapid alternation of two adjacent tones; a shake.

10. a similar sound, or succession of sounds, uttered or made by a bird, an insect, a person laughing, etc.

11. Phonetics.
a. a sequence of repetitive, rapid, vibratory movements produced in any free articulator or membrane by a rush of air expelled from the lungs and often causing a corresponding sequence of contacts between the vibrating articulator and another organ or surface.

b. a speech sound produced by such a trill.

’if we can discover the meaning in the trilling of a frog,
perhaps we may understand why it is for us not merely noise but a song of poetry and emotion.’

adrian forsyth

191👍 253👎