Nearby Words
verb (used without object)
1.
to sing or whistle with trills, quavers, or melodic embellishments: The canary warbled most of the day.
2.
to yodel.
3.
(of electronic equipment) to produce a continuous sound varying regularly in pitch and frequency.
verb (used with object)
4.
to sing (an aria or other selection) with trills, quavers, or melodious turns.
5.
to express or celebrate in or as if in song; carol.
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Warble
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is peculate. Does it mean:
| to run away hurriedly; flee. |
| to steal or take dishonestly (money, esp. public funds, or property entrusted to one's care); embezzle. |
noun
6.
a warbled song or succession of melodic trills, quavers, etc.
7.
the act of warbling.
Origin:
1300–50; Middle English werble a tune < Old North French < Germanic; compare Old High German werbel something that turns, equivalent to werb- (cognate with Old English hweorf- in hweorfan to turn) + -el noun suffix
1300–50; Middle English werble a tune < Old North French < Germanic; compare Old High German werbel something that turns, equivalent to werb- (cognate with Old English hweorf- in hweorfan to turn) + -el noun suffix
Dictionary.com Unabridged
noun Veterinary Pathology.
1.
a small, hard tumor on a horse's back, produced by the galling of the saddle.
2.
a lump in the skin of an animal's back, containing the larva of a warble fly.
Origin:
1575–85; origin uncertain; compare obsolete Swedish varbulde boil
1575–85; origin uncertain; compare obsolete Swedish varbulde boil
Related forms
war·bled, adjective
un·war·bled, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To warble
Collins
World English Dictionary
| warble1 (ˈwɔːbəl) | |
| —vb | |
| 1. | to sing (words, songs, etc) with trills, runs, and other embellishments |
| 2. | (tr) to utter in a song |
| 3. | (US) another word for yodel |
| —n | |
| 4. | the act or an instance of warbling |
| [C14: via Old French werbler from Germanic; compare Frankish hwirbilōn (unattested), Old High German wirbil whirlwind; see | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
warble
c.1300, from O.N.Fr. werbler "to sing with trills and quavers," from Frank. *werbilon (cf. O.H.G. wirbil "whirlwind," Ger. Wirbel "whirl, whirlpool, tuning peg, vertebra," M.Du. wervelen "to turn, whirl"); see whirl. The noun meaning "tune, melody" is recorded from c.1300.
EXPANDWarbler applied to Old World songbirds (1773), in North America to birds that look like them but sing little (1783).
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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