warble

¹

[ wawr-buhl ]

verb (used without object)

, war·bled, war·bling.

1. to sing or whistle with trills, quavers, or melodic embellishments:

   The canary warbled most of the day.

2. to yodel.
3. (of electronic equipment) to produce a continuous sound varying regularly in pitch and frequency.

verb (used with object)

, war·bled, war·bling.

1. to sing (an aria or other selection) with trills, quavers, or melodious turns.
2. to express or celebrate in or as if in song; carol.

noun

1. a warbled song or succession of melodic trills, quavers, etc.
2. the act of warbling.

warble

²

[ wawr-buhl ]

noun

, Veterinary Pathology.

1. a small, hard tumor on a horse's back, produced by the galling of the saddle.
2. a lump in the skin of an animal's back, containing the larva of a warble fly.

warble

¹

/ ˈwɔːbəl /

verb

1. to sing (words, songs, etc) with trills, runs, and other embellishments
2. tr to utter in a song
3. another word for yodel

noun

1. the act or an instance of warbling

warble

²

/ ˈwɔːbəl /

noun

1. a small lumpy abscess under the skin of cattle caused by infestation with larvae of the warble fly
2. a hard tumorous lump of tissue on a horse's back, caused by prolonged friction of a saddle

Derived Forms

• ˈwarbled, adjective

Other Words From

• warbled adjective
• un·warbled adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of warble¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English noun werble, warble “a tune,” from Old North French, from Germanic; compare Old High German werbel “something that turns”

Origin of warble²

First recorded in 1575–85; origin uncertain; compare Middle Swedish varbulde “boil”

Word History and Origins

Origin of warble¹

C14: via Old French werbler from Germanic; compare Frankish hwirbilōn (unattested), Old High German wirbil whirlwind; see whirl

Origin of warble²

C16: of uncertain origin

Example Sentences

By spotlighting her child’s untrained warble, Perry is attempting to demonstrate the human stakes of that undertaking while showing us that, as a record maker, she’s living by her own advice.

From Los Angeles Times

“We’d like to thank everyone for being here tonight,” he said in a muffled warble.

From New York Times

Then comes that "no no no no please don't" passage, when Barrymore's voice shudders with a tender warble.

From Salon

Their beautiful warble is a quintessential Australian sound and, as predators of many pests, they are vital to the country's ecosystems.

From BBC

Although Larry’s accelerando warble pledge from the 1990s kind of does that — “We’ll beat anyone’s advertised price or your mattress is … FREEEEEE!” — it’s the spousal-style ”You’re killing me, Larry” bickering over discount prices that has drilled this bit into your brain.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• chirp
• trill