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verb Whistle v. t. 1.To form, utter, or modulate by whistling; as, to whistle a tune or an air. 2.To send, signal, or call by a whistle. "He chanced to miss his dog; we stood still till he had whistled him up." To whistle off. (a)To dismiss by a whistle; a term in hawking. "AS a long-winged hawk when he is first whistled off the fist, mounts aloft." (b)Hence, in general, to turn loose; to abandon; to dismiss. "I 'ld whistle her off, and let her down the wind To prey at fortune." Note: "A hawk seems to have been usually sent off in this way, against the wind when sent in search of prey; with or down the wind, when turned loose, and abandoned."
Whistle v. i. (past & past part. whistled; pres. part. whistling) 1.To make a kind of musical sound, or series of sounds, by forcing the breath through a small orifice formed by contracting the lips; also, to emit a similar sound, or series of notes, from the mouth or beak, as birds. "The weary plowman leaves the task of day, And, trudging homeward, whistles on the way." 2.To make a shrill sound with a wind or steam instrument, somewhat like that made with the lips; to blow a sharp, shrill tone. 3.To sound shrill, or like a pipe; to make a sharp, shrill sound; as, a bullet whistles through the air. "The wild winds whistle, and the billows roar."
adjective Whistling adj. A. & n. from Whistle, v. Whistling buoy. (Naut.) See under Buoy. Whistling coot (Zool.), the American black scoter. Whistling Dick. (Zool.) (a)An Australian shrike thrush (Colluricincla Selbii). (b)The song thrush. (Prov. Eng.) Whistling eagle (Zool.), a small Australian eagle (Haliastur sphenurus); called also whistling hawk, and little swamp eagle. Whistling plover. (Zool.) (b)The black-bellied, or gray, plover. Whistling snipe (Zool.), the American woodcock. Whistling swan. (Zool.) (a)The European whooper swan; called also wild swan, and elk. (b)An American swan (Olor columbianus). See under Swan. Whistling teal (Zool.), a tree duck, as Dendrocygna awsuree of India. Whistling thrush. (Zool.) (a)Any one of several species of singing birds of the genus Myiophonus, native of Asia, Australia, and the East Indies. They are generally black, glossed with blue, and have a patch of bright blue on each shoulder. Their note is a loud and clear whistle. (b)The song thrush. (Prov. Eng.)
Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48
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