4 definitions found
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Whistle \Whis"tle\, verb (used without an object) [imp. & p. p. {Whistled}; p. pr. & vb.
n. {Whistling}.] [AS. hwistlian; akin to Sw. hvissla, Dan.
hvisle, Icel. hv[=i]sla to whisper, and E. whisper. [root]43.
See {Whisper}.]
1. To make a kind of musical sound, or series of sounds, by
forcing the breath through a small orifice formed by
contracting the lips; also, to emit a similar sound, or
series of notes, from the mouth or beak, as birds.
The weary plowman leaves the task of day,
And, trudging homeward, whistles on the way. --Gay.
2. To make a shrill sound with a wind or steam instrument,
somewhat like that made with the lips; to blow a sharp,
shrill tone.
3. To sound shrill, or like a pipe; to make a sharp, shrill
sound; as, a bullet whistles through the air.
The wild winds whistle, and the billows roar.
--Pope.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Whistling \Whis"tling\,
a. & n. from {Whistle}, v.
{Whistling buoy}. (Naut.) See under {Buoy}.
{Whistling coot} (Zo["o]l.), the American black scoter.
{Whistling Dick}. (Zo["o]l.)
(a) An Australian shrike thrush ({Colluricincla Selbii}).
(b) The song thrush. [Prov. Eng.]
{Whistling duck}. (Zo["o]l.)
(a) The golden-eye.
(b) A tree duck.
{Whistling eagle} (Zo["o]l.), a small Australian eagle
({Haliastur sphenurus}); -- called also {whistling hawk},
and {little swamp eagle}.
{Whistling plover}. (Zo["o]l.)
(a) The golden plover.
(b) The black-bellied, or gray, plover.
{Whistling snipe} (Zo["o]l.), the American woodcock.
{Whistling swan}. (Zo["o]l.)
(a) The European whooper swan; -- called also {wild swan},
and {elk}.
(b) An American swan ({Olor columbianus}). See under {Swan}.
{Whistling teal} (Zo["o]l.), a tree duck, as {Dendrocygna
awsuree} of India.
{Whistling thrush}. (Zo["o]l.)
(a) Any one of several species of singing birds of the genus
{Myiophonus}, native of Asia, Australia, and the East
Indies. They are generally black, glossed with blue, and
have a patch of bright blue on each shoulder. Their note
is a loud and clear whistle.
(b) The song thrush. [Prov. Eng.]
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
whistling
noun
1: the sound made by something moving rapidly or by steam
coming out of a small aperture [syn: {whistle}]
2: the act of whistling a tune; "his cheerful whistling
indicated that he enjoyed his work"
3: the act of signalling (e.g., summoning) by whistling or
blowing a whistle; "the whistle signalled the end of the
game" [syn: {whistle}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
74 Moby Thesaurus words for "whistling":
acute, argute, assibilation, buzz, creaky, ear-piercing,
effervescence, effervescing, fizz, fizzle, fizzling, frication,
frictional rustling, hiss, hissing, howling, hush, hushing, keen,
keening, lisp, penetrating, piercing, piping, reedy, rhonchus,
screaky, screeching, screechy, sharp, shrieking, shrieky, shrill,
shush, shushing, sibilance, sibilation, siffle, sigmatism, siss,
sissing, sizz, sizzle, sizzling, sneeze, sneezing, sniff, sniffle,
snore, snort, snuff, snuffle, spit, splutter, sputter, squash,
squeaking, squeaky, squelch, squish, sternutation, stertor, swish,
thin, ululant, wailing, wheeze, whining, whish, whistle,
white noise, whiz, whoosh, zip
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