tirralirra

English

Alternative forms

• tiralee

Etymology

Imitative.

Interjection

tirralirra

1. A verbal imitation of a musical sound, as of the note of a lark or a horn.
   • c. 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Winters Tale”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iii]:

     The lark, that tirra-lyra chants,

   • 1832 December (indicated as 1833), Alfred Tennyson, “The Lady of Shalott”, in Poems, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, part the third, page 15:

     From the bank, and from the river, / He flashed into the crystal mirror, / "Tirra lirra, tirra lirra," / Sang Sir Launcelot.

See also

• toora loora

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for “tirralirra”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.)