whistle

== English == === Pronunciation === (wine–whine merger) IPA(key): /ˈwɪs(ə)l/, [ˈwɪsl̩] (without the wine–whine merger) IPA(key): /ˈʍɪs(ə)l/, [ˈw̥ɪsl̩] Rhymes: -ɪsəl Hyphenation: whist‧le === Etymology 1 === From Middle English whistel, whistil, whistle, from Old English hwistle, from the verb (see below). ==== Noun ==== whistle (countable and uncountable, plural whistles) A device designed to be placed in the mouth and blown, or driven by steam or some other mechanism, to make a whistling sound. An act of whistling. A shrill, high-pitched sound made by whistling. Any high-pitched sound similar to the sound made by whistling. the whistle of the wind in the trees (Cockney rhyming slang) A suit (from whistle and flute). (colloquial) The mouth and throat; so called as being the organs of whistling. ===== Derived terms ===== ===== Translations ===== === Etymology 2 === From Middle English whistlen, from Old English hwistlan, hwistlian (“to whistle”), from Proto-West Germanic *hwistlōn, from Proto-Germanic *hwistlōną (“to make a hissing sound”). Cognate with Swedish vissla (“to whistle”), Icelandic hvísla (“to whisper”), Russian свистеть (svistetʹ, “to whistle”). ==== Verb ==== whistle (third-person singular simple present whistles, present participle whistling, simple past and past participle whistled) (ambitransitive) To make a shrill, high-pitched sound by forcing air through the mouth. To produce a whistling sound, restrictions to the flow of air are created using the teeth, tongue and lips. (ambitransitive) To make a similar sound by forcing air through a musical instrument or a pipe etc. (intransitive) To move in such a way as to create a whistling sound. (transitive) To send, signal, or call by a whistle. (intransitive, Opus Dei, slang) To request admission to Opus Dei, a Roman Catholic organization. ===== Derived terms ===== ===== Translations ===== === See also === whistle on Wikipedia.Wikipedia Whistle in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911) === Anagrams === Whitsel, whilest