whistle English · revision 15367

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited, onomatopoeia|attested=c. 950}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈhwɪs(ə)l/, /ˈwɪs(ə)l/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|whistlen]], [[inh|ang|hwistlian|t=to whistle, utter a shrill sound]] (the noun from [[m|ang|hwistle|t=a whistling instrument]]),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) from [[gem-pro|*hwis-]], of imitative origin,^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(Cresswell 2021) cognate with [[non|hvísla|t=to whisper]], [[sv|vissla|t=to whistle]] and [[da|hvisle|t=to hiss]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998) It is related to [[whisper]] and [[whine]].^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ As a noun, a small pipe or flute: about 950 in the OED and Barnhart.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Cresswell 2021) The verb, to make a shrill sound by forcing breath through the lips, is from about 1000.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Middle English it was also used of the hissing of serpents, and in the 17th century it could mean to whisper.^(Etymonline) Whistling as a signal of disapproval is attested by the late 14th century, translating Latin ''sibilum'', hissing.^(Etymonline) The act or sound of whistling is from the mid-15th century.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) ''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.^(Cresswell 2021)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) ''Clean as a whistle'' is recorded from 1878,^(Etymonline) the railway ''whistle-stop'' by 1925,^(Etymonline) and ''to blow the whistle on'', to bring something to a stop or inform on wrongdoing, from the referee's whistle.^(OED 1989)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 950 – hwistle, a pipe.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1000 – hwistlian, to whistle.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1386 – wet one's whistle.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1447 – an act of whistling.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1878 – clean as a whistle.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1925 – whistle-stop.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To make a clear, high sound by forcing breath through pursed lips or the teeth.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To produce a tune by whistling: ''he whistled a melody''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To make a shrill sound when moving fast through the air, or as a [[kettle]] or train does.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To signal or summon by whistling.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A small wind instrument or device for making a whistling sound.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A whistling sound.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[whistleable]]

+ * [[pennywhistle]]

+ * [[whistle-blower]]

+ * [[whistle-stop]]

+ * [[whistler]]

+ * [[bells and whistles]]

+ * [[whistle pig]]

+ * [[wolf whistle]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[whisper]]

+ * [[whine]]

+ * [[whistleblower]]

+ * [[whist]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}