stridulation

English

Etymology

1838, from earlier term stridulous; from Latin strīdulus (“giving a shrill sound, creaking”), from strīdō (“utter a shrill or harsh sound; creak, shriek, grate, hiss”).

Noun

stridulation (countable and uncountable, plural stridulations)

1. A high-pitched chirping, grating, hissing, or squeaking sound, as male crickets and grasshoppers make by rubbing certain body parts together.
   • 1994, John Christopher, A Dusk of Demons

     The Demons were crying now too, a stridulation that rose above the clamor and seemed to pierce the skull.

Related terms

• stridulate
• stridulous

Translations

chirping, grating, or squeaking sound made by crickets and grasshoppers

• Bulgarian: цвърчене (bg) n (cvǎrčene)
• Maori: kitā

French

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

stridulation f (plural stridulations)

1. stridulation

Further reading

• “stridulation”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.