Etymologically
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whistle

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 17 October 2026 at 16:12. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈhwɪs(ə)l/, /ˈwɪs(ə)l/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English whistlen, inherited from Old English hwistlian (“to whistle, utter a shrill sound”) (the noun from hwistle (“a whistling instrument”)),[2][3][4] from Proto-Germanic *hwis-, of imitative origin,[3][5][6] cognate with Old Norse hvísla (“to whisper”), Swedish vissla (“to whistle”) and Danish hvisle (“to hiss”).[2][3][7] It is related to whisper and whine.[3][6][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

As a noun, a small pipe or flute: about 950 in the OED and Barnhart.[8][2][6] The verb, to make a shrill sound by forcing breath through the lips, is from about 1000.[8][2]

Semantic evolution

In Middle English it was also used of the hissing of serpents, and in the 17th century it could mean to whisper.[3] Whistling as a signal of disapproval is attested by the late 14th century, translating Latin sibilum, hissing.[3] The act or sound of whistling is from the mid-15th century.[3][8] To wet one's whistle, to take a drink, is in Chaucer's Reeve's Tale (late 14th century), the whistle being the mouth or throat.[6][3][8] Clean as a whistle is recorded from 1878,[3] the railway whistle-stop by 1925,[3] and to blow the whistle on, to bring something to a stop or inform on wrongdoing, from the referee's whistle.[8][6]

Timeline

  • c. 950 – hwistle, a pipe.[8][2]
  • c. 1000 – hwistlian, to whistle.[8]
  • c. 1386 – wet one's whistle.[8]
  • 1447 – an act of whistling.[8]
  • 1878 – clean as a whistle.[3]
  • 1925 – whistle-stop.[3]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To make a clear, high sound by forcing breath through pursed lips or the teeth.
  2. To produce a tune by whistling: he whistled a melody.
  3. To make a shrill sound when moving fast through the air, or as a kettle or train does.
  4. To signal or summon by whistling.

Noun

  1. A small wind instrument or device for making a whistling sound.
  2. A whistling sound.

Word family

  • whistleable
  • pennywhistle
  • whistle-blower
  • whistle-stop
  • whistler
  • bells and whistles
  • whistle pig
  • wolf whistle
  • whisper
  • whine
  • whistleblower
  • whist

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d e Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press