warble

English

WOTD – 14 May 2006

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈwɔɹbl̩/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈwɔːbl̩/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)bəl

Etymology 1

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Verb

warble (third-person singular simple present warbles, present participle warbling, simple past and past participle warbled)

1. (transitive) To modulate a tone's frequency.
2. (transitive) To sing like a bird, especially with trills.
   • a. 1722, Matthew Prior, “Non Pareil”, in H. Bunker Wright, Monroe K. Spears, editors, The Literary Works of Matthew Prior, Second edition, volume I, Oxford: Clarendon Press, published 1971, page 683:

     Her voice more sweet than warbling sound,
     Tho’ sung by nightingale or lark,
     Her eyes such lustre dart around,
     Compar’d to them the sun is dark.

3. (transitive) To cause to quaver or vibrate.
   • 1634, John Milton, “Arcades”, in Poems of Mr. John Milton, […], London: […] Ruth Raworth for Humphrey Mosely, […], published 1646, →OCLC:

     touch the warbled string

4. (intransitive) To be quavered or modulated; to be uttered melodiously.
   • 1714, J[ohn] Gay, “Wednesday; or, The Dumps”, in The Shepherd’s Week. In Six Pastorals, London: […] R. Burleigh […], →OCLC, page 21:

     The wailings of a maiden I recite, / A maiden fair, that Sparabella hight. / Such ſtrains ne'er warble in the linnet's throat, / Nor the gay goldfinch chaunts ſo ſweet a note, [...]

Synonyms

• (to modulate a tone's frequency): trill

Derived terms

• warbler
• warbly

Translations

to modulate a tone's frequency

to sing like a bird, especially with trills

• Bulgarian: чуруликам (čurulikam)
• Finnish: livertää (fi)
• Italian: cinguettare (it)
• Japanese: さえずる (ja) (saezuru)
• Maori: wheko
• Russian: шебетать (šebetatʹ), залива́ться (ru) (zalivátʹsja), издавать трели
• Scottish Gaelic: ceileir
• Spanish: trinar (es)

Noun

warble (countable and uncountable, plural warbles)

1. The sound of one who warbles; singing with trills or modulations.
2. (military) In naval mine warfare, the process of varying the frequency of sound produced by a narrowband noisemaker to ensure that the frequency to which the mine will respond is covered.

Etymology 2

From Middle English werble (at least for the noun), from Frankish *werbel (mole cricket), cognate to Walloon waerbea.

Noun

warble (plural warbles)

1. A lesion under the skin of cattle, caused by the larva of a bot fly of genus Hypoderma.
2. A small hard swelling on a horse's back, caused by the galling of the saddle.

Derived terms

• warble fly

Translations

lesion under the skin of cattle, caused by by the larva of a bot fly

• French: varron (fr), varon (fr)
• German: Dasselbeule
• Walloon: waerbea (wa), waerbåd (wa)

Anagrams

• bawler