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trill

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trill

1  [tril] ,
Use trill in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to sing or play with a vibratory or quavering effect.
2. Phonetics. to produce (a sound) with a trill.
3. (of birds, insects, etc.) to sing or utter in a succession of rapidly alternating sounds.
–verb (used without object)
4. to resound vibrantly, or with a rapid succession of sounds, as the voice, song, or laughter.
5. to utter or make a sound or succession of sounds resembling such singing, as a bird, frog, grasshopper, or person laughing.
6. to execute a shake or trill with the voice or on a musical instrument.
7. Phonetics. to execute a trill, esp. with the tongue, as while singing, talking, or whistling.
–noun
8. the act or sound of trilling.
9. Music. a rapid alternation of two adjacent tones; a shake.
10. a similar sound, or succession of sounds, uttered or made by a bird, an insect, a person laughing, etc.
11. Phonetics.
a. a sequence of repetitive, rapid, vibratory movements produced in any free articulator or membrane by a rush of air expelled from the lungs and often causing a corresponding sequence of contacts between the vibrating articulator and another organ or surface.
b. a speech sound produced by such a trill.
Origin:
1635–45; < It trillo quaver or warble in singing ≪ Gmc; cf. D trillen to vibrate, late ME trillen to shake or rock (something)
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trill

2  [tril] Archaic.
–verb (used without object)
1. to flow in a thin stream; trickle.
–verb (used with object)
2. to cause to flow in a thin stream.
Origin:
1300–50; ME trillen to make (something) turn, to roll, flow (said of tears, water) < ODan trijlæ to roll (said, e.g., of tears and of a wheelbarrow); cf. Norw trille, Sw trilla. See trill 1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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trill   (trĭl)   
n.  

  1. A fluttering or tremulous sound, as that made by certain birds; a warble.

  2. Music

    1. The rapid alternation of two tones either a whole or a half tone apart.

    2. A vibrato.

    3. A rapid vibration of one speech organ against another, as of the tongue against the alveolar ridge in Spanish rr.

    4. A speech sound pronounced with such a vibration.

  3. Linguistics

    1. A rapid vibration of one speech organ against another, as of the tongue against the alveolar ridge in Spanish rr.

    2. A speech sound pronounced with such a vibration.

v.   trilled, tril·ling, trills

v.   tr.

  1. To sound, sing, or play with a trill.

  2. To articulate (a sound) with a trill.

v.   intr.
To produce or give forth a trill.

[Italian trillo, from trillare, to trill, probably ultimately of imitative 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

trill  (n.)
1649, from It. trillio, triglio "a quavering or warbling in singing," probably of imitative origin. The verb is 1666, from It. trillare "to quaver, trill."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Encyclopedia

trill

in phonetics, a vibration or series of flaps (see flap) of the tongue, lips, or uvula against some other part of the mouth. The Spanish rr in perro ("dog") is a tongue trill, and the French r is sometimes pronounced as an uvular trill

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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