bull-roarer

American  

[bool-rawr-er, -rohr-] / ˈbʊlˌrɔr ər, -ˌroʊr- /

noun

1. a wooden slat that produces a roaring sound when whirled around one's head on the end of a string or thong, used by some peoples of the world in religious ceremonies and by others as a toy.

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Etymology

Origin of bull-roarer

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

Or is the bull-roarer a toy that might be accidentally hit on in any country where men can sharpen wood and twist the sinews of animals into string?

From Custom and Myth New Edition by Lang, Andrew

The bull-roarer has been, and is, a sacred and magical instrument in many and widely separated lands.

From Custom and Myth New Edition by Lang, Andrew

We do not learn, however, that women in Zuni are forbidden to look upon the bull-roarer.

From Custom and Myth New Edition by Lang, Andrew

Can it be that I inherit from a stone-age ancestor both the fear and love of the bull-roarer?

From Rustic Sounds and Other Studies in Literature and Natural History by Darwin, Francis, Sir

Arrkroo feared the bull-roarer, which spoke with the dreaded voice of Tumana, as much as anyone.

From In the Musgrave Ranges by Sayce, Conrad H. (Conrad Harvey)