trill

¹

[ tril ]

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)

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

   Synonyms: vibrate, tremble, quaver

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

   Synonyms: warble, twitter, tweet, sing, peep, chirrup, chirp, cheep

3. to execute a shake or trill with the voice or on a musical instrument.
4. Phonetics. to execute a trill, especially with the tongue, as while singing, talking, or whistling.

noun

1. the act or sound of trilling.
2. Music. a rapid alternation of two adjacent tones; a shake.
3. a similar sound, or succession of sounds, uttered or made by a bird, an insect, a person laughing, etc.

   Synonyms: song, pipe, peep, chirrup, chirr, chirp, cheep, call, birdsong, twitter, tweet

4. Phonetics.
   1. 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.
   2. a speech sound produced by such a trill.

trill

²

[ tril ]

verb (used without object)

1. to flow in a thin stream; trickle.

verb (used with object)

1. to cause to flow in a thin stream.

trill

¹

/ trɪl /

verb

1. an archaic or poetic word for trickle

trill

²

/ trɪl /

noun

1. music a melodic ornament consisting of a rapid alternation between a principal note and the note a whole tone or semitone above it Usual symbolwritten above a notetr.tr
2. a shrill warbling sound, esp as made by some birds
3. phonetics
   1. the articulation of an (r) sound produced by holding the tip of the tongue close to the alveolar ridge, allowing the tongue to make a succession of taps against the ridge
   2. the production of a similar effect using the uvula against the back of the tongue

verb

1. to sound, sing, or play (a trill or with a trill)
2. tr to pronounce (an (r) sound) by the production of a trill

Word History and Origins

Origin of trill¹

First recorded in 1640–50; from Italian trillo, triglio “quaver or warble in singing,” ultimately from Germanic; compare Dutch trillen “to vibrate,” late Middle English trillen “to shake or rock (something)”

Origin of trill²

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English trillen “to make (something) turn, to roll, flow (said of tears, water),” from Old Danish trijlæ “to roll” (said, e.g., of tears and of a wheelbarrow); compare Norwegian trille , Swedish trilla; trill ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of trill¹

C14: probably of Scandinavian origin; related to Norwegian trilla to roll; see trill ¹

Origin of trill²

C17: from Italian trillo , from trillare , apparently from Middle Dutch trillen to vibrate

Example Sentences

A week after she headlined Coachella — and with an album on the way called “Lasso” to hype — Lana Del Rey turned up at Stagecoach to trill the Righteous Brothers’ “Unchained Melody” with Paul Cauthen, a hammy up-and-comer with a booming baritone and a televangelist’s fashion sense.

From Los Angeles Times

The third gave us the franchise's first transgender and non-binary characters in Ian Alexander's Trill Gray and Blu del Barrio's Adira Tal.

From Salon

There was a sense of that deceptive softness in a whistling trill near the end of the piece, and as she generously partnered with members of the orchestra: her strumming paired with the wandering melody of Anthony McGill’s clarinet; her muted twinkle adding new color to the opening theme as it flowed from Robert Langevin’s flute.

From New York Times

“We always promised ourselves we’d never directly lie to him about this,” Mom said, her flutelike voice sounding like a trill of danger.

From Literature

Under a starry sky in the Calakmul reserve, as unseen frogs chirp and insects trill, Medellín Legorreta patiently works to untangle a bat caught in a mist net.

From Science Magazine