warble

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈwɔɹbl̩/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈwɔːbl̩/

• Audio (US):

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• Audio (General Australian):

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• Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)bəl

Perhaps onomatopoeic. (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

warble (third-person singular simple present warbles, present participle warbling, simple past and past participle warbled)

1. (transitive) To modulate a tone's frequency.
2. (transitive) To sing like a bird, especially with trills.
   • a. 1722, Matthew Prior, “Non Pareil”, in H. Bunker Wright, Monroe K. Spears, editors, The Literary Works of Matthew Prior, Second edition, volume I, Oxford: Clarendon Press, published 1971, page 683:

     Her voice more sweet than warbling sound,
     Tho’ sung by nightingale or lark,
     Her eyes such lustre dart around,
     Compar’d to them the sun is dark.

   • 1865, Walt Whitman, “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d”, in Sequel to Drum-Taps: When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d and other poems:

     In the swamp in secluded recesses, / A shy and hidden bird is warbling a song.

3. (transitive) To cause to quaver or vibrate.
   • 1634, John Milton, “Arcades”, in Poems of Mr. John Milton, , London: Ruth Raworth for Humphrey Mosely, , published 1646, →OCLC:

     touch the warbled string

4. (intransitive) To be quavered or modulated; to be uttered melodiously.
   • 1714, J Gay, “Wednesday; or, The Dumps”, in The Shepherd’s Week. In Six Pastorals, London: R. Burleigh , →OCLC, page 21:

     The wailings of a maiden I recite, / A maiden fair, that Sparabella hight. / Such ſtrains ne'er warble in the linnet's throat, / Nor the gay goldfinch chaunts ſo ſweet a note, [...]

• (to modulate a tone's frequency): trill

• warbler
• warbly

warble (countable and uncountable, plural warbles)

1. The sound of one who warbles; singing with trills or modulations.
   • 2015 April 16, Richard P. Grant, “Sex and the successful fundraiser”, in The Guardian‎:

     The blackbirds and robins and and tits and finches shout at each other, chups and warbles and chirrups that, loosely translated, mean “Fancy a shag?”, “Get OFF my land” or “I’ve got a great big tonker.”

2. (military) In naval mine warfare, the process of varying the frequency of sound produced by a narrowband noisemaker to ensure that the frequency to which the mine will respond is covered.

From Middle English werble (at least for the noun), from Frankish *werbel (mole cricket), cognate to Walloon waerbea.

warble (plural warbles)

1. A lesion under the skin of cattle, caused by the larva of a bot fly of genus Hypoderma.
2. A small hard swelling on a horse's back, caused by the galling of the saddle.

• warble fly

• bawler