warble
- warble
\ \ [14] The etymological notion underlying the word warble is of ‘whirling around’; its application to sounds, originally in the sense ‘whirl of notes, trill’, is a secondary development. It was borrowed from Old Northern French werbler, a derivative of the noun werble ‘trill, melody’. And this in turn came from Frankish *hwirbilōn ‘whirl, trill’, which is distantly related to English whirl. (Warble ‘swelling on an animal’s back caused by insect larva’ [16] is a completely different word.
\ \ It may have been borrowed from the now obsolete Swedish compound varbulde, literally ‘pustumour’, or a related Scandinavian word.)
Word origins - 2ed.
J. Ayto.
2005.
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warble — warble1 [wôr′bəl] vt. warbled, warbling [ME werblen < NormFr werbler < Frank * wirbilon, akin to Ger wirbeln, to whirl, warble] 1. to sing (a song, notes, etc.) melodiously, with trills, quavers, runs, etc., as a bird does 2. to express in… … English World dictionary
Warble — War ble, v. i. 1. To be quavered or modulated; to be uttered melodiously. [1913 Webster] Such strains ne er warble in the linnet s throat. Gay. [1913 Webster] 3. To sing in a trilling manner, or with many turns and variations. Birds on the… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Warble — War ble, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Warbled}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Warbling}.] [OE. werbelen, OF. werbler; of Teutonic origin; cf. G. wirbeln to turn, to warble, D. wervelen, akin to E. whirl. See {Whirl}.] [1913 Webster] 1. To sing in a trilling,… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Warble — War ble, n. A quavering modulation of the voice; a musical trill; a song. [1913 Webster] And he, the wondrous child, Whose silver warble wild Outvalued every pulsing sound. Emerson. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Warble — War ble, n. [Cf. {Wormil}.] [1913 Webster] 1. (Far.) (a) A small, hard tumor which is produced on the back of a horse by the heat or pressure of the saddle in traveling. (b) A small tumor produced by the larv[ae] of the gadfly in the backs of… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
warble — (v.) c.1300, from O.N.Fr. werbler to sing with trills and quavers, from Frank. *werbilon (Cf. O.H.G. wirbil whirlwind, Ger. Wirbel whirl, whirlpool, tuning peg, vertebra, M.Du. wervelen to turn, whirl ); see WHIRL (Cf. whirl). The noun meaning… … Etymology dictionary
warble — vb *sing, troll, carol, descant, trill, hymn, chant, intone … New Dictionary of Synonyms
warble — ► VERB 1) (of a bird) sing softly and with a succession of constantly changing notes. 2) (of a person) sing in a trilling or quavering voice. ► NOUN ▪ a warbling sound or utterance. ORIGIN Old French werbler; related to WHIRL(Cf. ↑whirl) … English terms dictionary
warble — UK [ˈwɔː(r)b(ə)l] / US [ˈwɔrb(ə)l] verb Word forms warble : present tense I/you/we/they warble he/she/it warbles present participle warbling past tense warbled past participle warbled 1) [intransitive/transitive] humorous to sing, especially in a … English dictionary
warble — [[t]wɔ͟ː(r)b(ə)l[/t]] warbles, warbling, warbled 1) VERB When a bird warbles, it sings pleasantly. The bird continued to warble... [V n] A flock of birds was already warbling a cheerful morning chorus. 2) VERB If someone warbles, they sing in a… … English dictionary
warble — Wormil Wor mil, n. [Cf. 1st {Warble}.] [1913 Webster] 1. (Zo[ o]l.) Any botfly larva which burrows in or beneath the skin of domestic and wild animals, thus producing sores. They belong to various species of {Hypoderma} and allied genera.… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
