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Skirl

 - 3 dictionary results

skirl

  [skurl]
Use Skirl in a Sentence
–verb (used without object)
1. to play the bagpipe.
2. Scot. and North England. to shriek.
–noun
3. the sound of a bagpipe.
4. Scot. and North England. any shrill sound.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME scirlen, skrillen (v.), perh. < Scand; cf. Norw skrella boom, crash
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Skirl
skirl   (skûrl)   
v.   skirled, skirl·ing, skirls

v.   intr.
To produce a high, shrill, wailing tone. Used of bagpipes.
v.   tr.
To play (a piece) on bagpipes.
n.  

  1. The shrill sound made by the chanter pipe of bagpipes.

  2. A shrill wailing sound: "The skirl of a police whistle split the stillness" (Sax Rohmer).


[Middle English skrillen, skirlen, probably of Scandinavian origin.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

skirl 
c.1400, "to make a shrill sound," from a Scand. source (cf. Norw. skyrla, skrella "to shriek"), of imitative origin. In reference to bagpipes, it is attested by 1665 and now rarely used otherwise.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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