▪ I. † trill, n.1 Obs. rare.
Also 6 tryle.
Origin and meaning uncertain.
| 1558 Cal. Anc. Rec. Dublin (1889) 470 Wheare the bouchers of this cittie and ther servaunts dothe contynuallie cut trills out of every hyde,..every person may laufully seise and take..all and every suche tryle as shalbe founde. 1654 in W. M. Myddelton Chirk Castle Acc. (1908) 47 For makeinge trills and pullies for the weaver's loome. |
▪ II. trill, n.2
(trɪl)
Also 8 tril.
[Goes with trill v.3; ad. It. trillo, beside triglio, ‘a quaver or warble in singing’ (Florio); so F. † tril, trille.]
1. Mus. a. A tremulous utterance of a note or notes, as a ‘grace’ or ornament: = tremolo or vibrato. b. A rapid alternation of two notes a degree apart; a shake.
| 1649 Lovelace Poems 120 Far lesse be't æmulation To passe me, or in trill or Tone Like the thin throat of Philomel. 1662 Playford Skill Mus. i. xi. (1674) 47 The Trill..is upon one Note only. 1710 Steele Tatler No. 222 ¶10, I..have attributed many of his [a vocal musician's] Trills and Quavers to the Coldness of the Weather. 1785 Burns Cotter's Sat. Night xiii, The sweetest far of Scotia's holy lays: Compar'd with these, Italian trills are tame. 1801 Ranken Hist. France I. 488 The beats, the trills, the shakes, and accents of the Italians. 1886 Appleton's Ann. Cycl. XI. 87 This even and continuous roll [of the canary⁓notes] is as perfect as the trill of any instrument. |
2. transf. A tremulous high-pitched sound or succession of notes, esp. in the singing of birds.
| a 1704 T. Brown Praise Drunkenness Wks. 1730 I. 37 The Drunkard's voice is hoarse and manly, not like the squeaking trils of an Eunuch. 1745 Warton Inscript. Hermitage ii, Within my limits lone and still The blackbird pipes in artless trill. 1865 Dickens Mut. Fr. iii. xii, There was quite a fresh trill in his voice. 1884 Mrs. C. Praed Zéro iv, There was the trill and full chirrup of the chaffinch. |
3. Phonetics. The pronunciation of a consonant, esp. r, with vibration of the tongue or other part of the vocal organs; a consonant so pronounced.
| 1848 A. J. Ellis Essentials Phonetics 50 There may be three trills belonging to this group. Ibid. 51 Persons who are unable to execute the trill. 1867 A. M. Bell Visible Speech 55 The sign of ‘trill’..denotes a vibration of the uvula;..of the point of the tongue;..of the lips. 1877 Sweet Handbk. Phonetics §102 Trills are a special variety of unstopped consonants. 1889 A. J. Ellis Early Eng. Pronunc. 643 Uvular trill. |
▪ III. trill, n.3 dial.
[Variant of thrill n.4, thill1.]
The shaft of a cart or wagon. Also attrib.
| 1688 R. Holme Armoury iii. 339/2 The Trills, or Sides of the Cart, which the horse is to stand between. Ibid. 340/1 The Trill Horse, that next the Cart, and beareth the sides up with a Back band lying on the Trill Sadle. 1726 Dict. Rust. (ed. 3) s.v. Cart, The Trill-Hooks and Back-band, which holds the Sides of the Cart up to the Horse. 1766 Compl. Farmer s.v. Spiky-roller, Let the trills be placed just on the middle of each frame. [1905 Eng. Dial. Dict., Thrill, recorded from South Cheshire, but now ‘less commonly used than formerly’. Also Thrill-bars, Thrill-gears; Thrill-horse, or Thriller, the shaft-horse. [Randle Holme, with whom the Dictionary entries begin, was a native of Chester.]] |
▪ IV. † trill, n.4 Obs.
[Cf. drill n.4, a furrow.]
A hot-air channel in a green-house, etc.; a flue.
| 1707 Mortimer Husb. (1721) II. 191 One part of it may have Trils made under the Floor to convey warmth from the Stoves made on the back side of the House, the better to preserve it from Cold or Dampness. |
▪ V. trill, v.1 Now dial. or arch.
(trɪl)
Forms: 4–6 tril(le, tryl(le, 6 tryll, 6– trill.
[ME. trille: cf. Sw. and Norw. trilla, Da. trilde, trille, to roll, trundle, wheel; also EFris. trullen, trüllen to roll, turn round. See also tirl v.3]
1. trans. To turn (a thing) round, to cause to revolve or rotate; = tirl v.3 1. a. To twirl, twiddle, whirl, spin.
to trill the bones (slang): to throw the dice with a spinning motion; cf. ‘whirl the bones’, bone n. 5 a.
| c 1386 Chaucer Sqr.'s T. 308 But whan yow list to ryden any where Ye mooten trille [v.r. trylle] a pyn stant in his [the brazen horse's] ere. Ibid. 313 And whan ye come ther as yow list abyde, Bidde hym descende, and trille [v.rr. tryl, -le, tril] another pyn. 1530 Palsgr. 762/1, I tryll a whirlygyg rounde aboute, je pirouette... I tryll, je jecte. 1547 Salesbury Welsh Dict., Troi whirligwgan, tryll a whyrlygyg. c 1550 R. Wever Lusty Juventus D iij, I wyll trill the bones while I haue one grote. 1570 Levins Manip. 123/43 To Tril, circumuertere. 1616 J. Lane Cont. Sqr.'s T. iv. 417 So taught her how to trill the pinn in th' eare, Which th' horse, at willes quicke call, heard anie wheare. 1873 Williams & Jones Somerset. Gloss., Trill, to twirl. 1885 Burton Arab. Nts. (1887) III. 141 Thereupon the Prince trilled the pin. |
b. To roll, bowl, trundle (a ball, a hoop, etc.); to move (a thing) on wheels or castors. Also fig.
| 1408 Clifton tr. Vegetius' De Re Milit. iv. xvii. (MS. Digby 233, lf. 220 b/2) Þese toures mot haue crafty whelus Imaad to trille hem liȝtliche to þe walles. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 502/2 Tryllyn, or trollyn, volvo, Cath. 1542 Udall Erasm. Apoph. 42 b, Eris..had trilled along the table a golden apple. c 1572 Gascoigne Fruites Warre lxvii, As fortune trilles the ball. 1642 Howell For. Trav. (Arb.) 29 As wise as he, who carried the coach-wheele upon his back, when he might have trilled it before him all along. 1650 ― Giraffi's Rev. Naples i. 91 The huge concourse of people..which were so thick, that one might have trill'd a bal upon their heads. 1673–4 R. Allestree Let. 7 Jan. in Fox Bourne Locke (1876) I. vi. 321, I had acknowledged the receipt of yours..long since, had I not been trilled on in a constant expectation of being [etc.]. 1905 in Eng. Dial. Dict. s.v., (E. Kent) There now, let me see how nicely you can trill your hoop. |
† 2. intr. Of a wheel, ball, etc.: To revolve, spin, roll, trundle. Obs.
| 1531 Elyot Gov. i. xxvii, If it [tennis-ball] trille fast on the grounde. 1681 Rycaut tr. Gracian's Critick 142 Some⁓times it [the ball] was tossed so high, that it was out of sight, anon so low..it bounded and trilled on the ground. |
Hence ˈtrilling vbl. n.
| c 1410 Love Bonavent. Mirr. xviii. (1908) 112 As we mowe see alday many men and wommen berynge bedes with trillynge on the fyngres and waggynge the lippes, bot the siȝt caste to vanytees. |
▪ VI. trill, v.2 arch.
Forms: 4–6 trylle, 4–7 trille, (? 5 tryle), 6–7 tril, 6– trill.
[Perh. a distinct sense-development of prec. But cf. the synonymous drill v.2; also Ger. trillen ‘to flow whirling or rolling’, cited by Grimm from a 17th c. writer, and taken by him as a form of drillen to turn.]
1. intr. Of tears, water, a stream: To roll, to flow in a slender stream, the particles of water being in constant revolution, with a more continuous motion than is expressed by trickle; to purl. (Sometimes (as in quot. 1613) including the notion of musical sound, as in trill v.3)
| 13.. St. Erkenwolde 322 in Horstm. Altengl. Leg. (1881) 273 Teres trilled adoun & one þe toumbe lightene. c 1386 Chaucer Sompn. T. 156 (Harl. MS.) With many a teere trilling [v.rr. triklyng, trynkelynge] on my cheeke. a 1541 Wyatt Poems, Compar. Love to Stream, From these hie hilles as when a spring doth fall, It trilleth downe with still and suttle course. 1613 W. Browne Brit. Past. i. v, Two springs arise and delicately trill In gentle chidings through an humble dale. 1667 Dryden & Davenant Tempest ii. iv, A cold sweat trills down o'er all my limbs. 1769 De Foe's Tour Gt. Brit. I. 230 Water, which trills through Marble Troughs, one below another. 1815 Scott Guy M. xxii, A little dell, through which trilled a small rivulet. |
b. intr. To flow or run with thrilling effect. (Perh. meant for thrill v.1 4 b.)
| 1740 Somerville Hobbinol i. 71 What Extasies of Joy Trill'd through thy Veins, when..they strok'd thy grizly Beard. |
2. trans. To cause to flow in this way. † trill off, to drain off, drink up (obs.).
| c 1485 E.E. Misc. (Warton Cl.) 65 One truth let ever thi tong tryle. 1589 Nashe Almond for Parrat 12 b, A boule of Beere..you tooke..from before him, and trilled it off without anie more bones. 1591 Sylvester Du Bartas i. v. 825 The other [Pelican]..Tears her own bowells, trilleth⁓out her blood To heal her young. 1649 G. Daniel Trinarch. To Rdr. 55 The Pumpe of Witt..trills a Coppie, that the Spunges may Lick vp what he hath Squeez'd. 1867 A. J. Wilson Vashti xxv, When I have trilled a fortune into that abhorred vacuum, my pocket, I shall go down to the Tigris, and catch the mate to Tobias' fish. |
† 3. intr. To fall or hang down in a flowing manner; to stream, trail. Obs.
| a 1400 Sir Beues (E.) 1665 Hys heere tryllyd doun too hys ffoote. c 1440 Brut 462 A bawdrik of gold aboute his neck, trillyng doun behynde hym. 1609 Bp. W. Barlow Answ. Nameless Cath. 11 His Picture drawn with two ropes about his neck, and his bowels (like an other Iudas) trilling downe his body. |
Hence ˈtrilling vbl. n. and ppl. a.
| 1567 Turberv. Pyndara's Answ. to Tymetes Epit., etc. 27 Not shed my trilling teares vpon thy moisted face? 1582 Stanyhurst æneis ii. (Arb.) 43 Tears with trilling shal bayne my phisnomye deepelye. 1637 B. Jonson Sad Sheph. ii. ii, Twa trilland Brooks, each (from his Spring) doth meet. 1665 Hooke Microgr. xx. 129 The droppings or trillings of Lapidescent waters in Vaults under ground. 1713 Steele Guard. No. 50 ¶2 The trilling of rivulets. |
▪ VII. trill, v.3
[Appears c 1667, ad. It. trillare, in Florio 1611 also trigliare (not in 1598), ‘to quaver or warble in singing’, cognate with triglio, trillo: see trill n.2 (It. trillare is usually referred to a German source: cf. trill v.4)]
1. intr. To sing with vibratory effect; to sing a trill or shake, to ‘shake’; of a voice, etc.: To sound with tremulous vibration.
| 1666–7 Pepys Diary 7 Feb., My wife..proud that she shall come to trill, and..I think she will. 1667 Ibid. 7 Sept., I did tell him of my intention to learn to trill. 1841 D'Israeli Amen. Lit. (1867) 402 This consonance trills in the simple carol of the African women. 1856 E. Capern Poems (ed. 2) 54 And music trilled o'er moor and mead. 1884 St. James' Gaz. 29 May 6/2 At least four nightingales..trilling in whole-hearted chorus. |
2. trans. To utter or sing (a note, tune, etc.) with tremulous vibration of sound.
| a 1701 Sedley Poet. Pieces Wks. 1722 II. 15 The Nightingale her mournful Story trills In yonder Hawthorn Shade. 1727–46 Thomson Summer 746 The sober suited songstress trills her lay. 1810 Scott Lady of L. iv. xxiv, So blithely he trilled the lowland lay. 1840 Dickens Old C. Shop xv, The lark trilled out her happy song. 1860 Gosse Rom. Nat. Hist. 28 Like that charming bird-voice, it was beautifully trilled or shaken. 1862 M. E. Braddon Lady Audley ix, Sitting down to the piano to trill out a ballad. |
b. To cause (an instrument or the voice) to vibrate with a tremulous sound.
| 1848 Dickens Dombey iii, The man who trilled the little bell of the Dutch clock as he went along. 1848 A. J. Ellis Essentials Phonetics 49 The tongue assumes precisely the same position as for s, but the tip is now trilled. |
3. To pronounce (a consonant, esp. r) with a vibration of the tongue (or other vocal organ) and the corresponding auditory effect; = roll v.2 4 c.
| 1848 A. J. Ellis Essentials Phonetics 95 To show that the r is..trilled. 1873 J. A. H. Murray Dial. S. Co. Scotl. 120 R is in Scotch..in all positions trilled sharply with the point of the tongue. 1887 Pronunc. Latin (Camb. Philol. Soc.) 5 Trilled ‘r’ as in French (or Scotch): more strongly trilled than in English ‘Opera’, ‘herring’. |
Hence trilled (trɪld) ppl. a., ˈtrilling vbl. n. and ppl. a.; whence ˈtrillingly adv., in a trilling manner, with trilling; also ˈtriller, one who trills.
| a 1700 Dryden (Todd), Am I call'd upon the grave debate, To judge of trilling notes and tripping feet? 1749 Fielding Tom Jones v. x, The sweet trilling of a murmuring stream. 1753 Scots Mag. XV. 40/2 Ye angels, catch the trilling sound. 1848 A. J. Ellis Essentials Phonetics 68 Veer-ing, car-ing [etc.] lose their trilled..r. 1854 Bushnan in Circ. Sc. (c 1865) I. 292/2 Its song is composed of several strains, each consisting of trilling and warbling notes variously modulated. 1873 T. L. Kington-Oliphant Sources Stand. Eng. 323 A triller of Italian trills must be known as a vocalist. 1887 Trilled [see sense 3]. 1887 Eng. Illustr. Mag. Sept. 779 As many finches, singing trillingly. 1888 Sweet Eng. Sounds 25 We have, lastly, the trilling of open consonants [especially English and German r]. 1894 Outing (U.S.) XXIV. 230/2, I had failed to subsist on the manna of the Covenanters or a high-trilled Te Deum. |
▪ VIII. † trill, v.4 Obs. rare.
[Etymology obscure Cf. MDu. trillen, drillen to move to and fro, vibrate, vacillate, Du. trillen to shiver, shake, EFris. trillen to shake or rock from side to side.]
trans. To rock (a cradle).
| c 1425 Fest. of Ch. viii. in Holy Rood (E.E.T.S.) App. 213 Ȝit myȝt þe mylde may among Her cradel trille to and fro, And syng, Osye, thi song! |
▪ IX. trill
see tirl v.3 (senses 1 b, 3).