warble Hear it!

warble1 definition

war·ble (wôrbəl)

transitive verb warbled -·bled, warbling -·bling

  1. to sing (a song, notes, etc.) melodiously, with trills, quavers, runs, etc., as a bird does
  2. to express in song

Etymology: ME werblen < NormFr werbler < Frank *wirbilon, akin to Ger wirbeln, to whirl, warble

intransitive verb

  1. to sing melodiously, with trills, etc.
  2. to make a musical sound; babble, as a stream does
  3. yodel

noun

  1. the act of warbling
  2. a warbling sound; trill
warble2 definition

war·ble (wôrbəl)

noun

  1. a small, hard tumor on the back of a horse, caused by the rubbing and pressing of a saddle
  2. a lump or swelling under the hide of an animal, esp. on the back, caused by the presence of a larva of a botfly, esp. a warble fly

Etymology: prob. < Scand, as in obs. Swed varbulde, a boil < var, pus + bulde, tumor

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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