skirl

skirl  (skûrl)

v. skirled, skirl·ing, skirls

v.intr.

To produce a high, shrill, wailing tone. Used of bagpipes.

v.tr.

To play (a piece) on bagpipes.

n.

1. The shrill sound made by the chanter pipe of bagpipes.

2. A shrill wailing sound: "The skirl of a police whistle split the stillness" (Sax Rohmer).

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[Middle English skrillen, skirlen, probably of Scandinavian origin.]

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skirl Scot & N English dialect

Noun

the sound of bagpipes

Verb

(of bagpipes) to give out a shrill sound [probably from Old Norse]

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Skirl of pipers: company of bag-pipe players—Lipton, 1970.

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	skirl - the sound of (the chanter of) a bagpipe sound - the sudden occurrence of an audible event; "the sound awakened them"
Verb	1.	skirl - make a shrill, wailing sound; "skirling bagpipes" sound, go - make a certain noise or sound; "She went `Mmmmm'"; "The gun went `bang'"
	2.	skirl - play the bagpipes music - musical activity (singing or whistling etc.); "his music was his central interest" play - perform music on (a musical instrument); "He plays the flute"; "Can you play on this old recorder?"