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▪ I. warble, n.1|ˈwɔːb(ə)l|
Forms: 4 warbele, -bul, 5 -bell, varble, 4–6 werble, 4 -bele, -bul, 5 wherble, 6 Sc. verbille, -ble; 4– warble.
[a. OF. werble: see warble v.1]
1. a. In early use, a tune or melody (perh. of some special kind) performed on an instrument or sung. Subsequently (influenced by warble v.1), the action or an act of warbling; gentle and melodious singing, esp. of birds.
13..Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 119 Nwe nakryn noyse with þe noble pipes, Wylde werbles & wyȝt wakned lote. c1374Chaucer Troylus ii. 1033 Þough þe beste harpour vpon lyue Wolde..Touche ay o streng or ay o werbul [v.rr. warbul, -bele, -ble, werble, -bul] harpe. 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) I. 355 In þe whiche instrumentis..þey makeþ wel mery armonye and melody wiþ wel þicke tunes, werbeles, and notes. c1400Lydg. Chorle & Bird xi. in Min. Poems (Percy Soc.) 182 [Harl. MS. 116] The soote sugred armonye Of uncouthe varblys and tunys drawen on longe. c1407― Reson & Sens. 1249 So as the Swan..Syngeth to forn his fatal day, With werbles ful of melodye. 1501Douglas Pal. Hon. i. xlv, Na mair I will thir verbillis sweit define. c1590J. Stewart Poems (S.T.S.) II. 76 Quhair birds outbirstit doulcest verblis rair. 1628Feltham Resolves ii. xxv. 80 Damned Sathan! that with Orphean ayres, and dextrous warbles, lead'st vs to the Flames of Hell. 1742Gray Let. to West Apr., I give you thanks for your warble, and wish you could sing yourself to rest. 1757Dyer Fleece i. 614 With ev'ry murmur of the sliding wave, And ev'ry warble of the feather'd choir. 1818Scott Hrt. Midl. xl, The strain was solemn and affecting, sustained as it was by the pathetic warble of a voice which had naturally been a fine one. 1834Wordsw. Even. Volunt. v. 1 The linnet's warble, sinking towards a close, Hints to the thrush 'tis time for their repose. 1868L. M. Alcott Little Women ii, Hagar puts back the cup which holds the poison meant for Roderigo. Hugo, getting thirsty after a long warble, drinks it, loses his wits, [etc.].
transf.1871Tennyson Last Tourn. 254 Quiet as any water-sodden log Stay'd in the wandering warble of a brook.
b. Manner of warbling.
a1547Surrey in Tottel's Misc. (Arb.) 7 There shalt thou here and se all kindes of birdes ywrought, Well tune their voice with warble smal, as nature hath them tought. 1776Burney Hist. Mus. I. 191 A sound so much the more agreeable, as it is not monotonous, which is the case in the warble of most other birds. 1776–83Justamond tr. Raynal's Hist. Indies I. 307 Birds have a warble that is peculiar to them. a1900Duke of Argyll Autob. & Mem. (1906) I. 202 The song of the willow-wren is too low a warble to attract general attention.
c. collect. The united sound of bird-songs.
1776Pennant Brit. Zool. (ed. 4) I. 314 Its notes are part of that time drowned in the general warble of the season. 1794Mrs. Piozzi Synon. I. 200 Whose destructive temper and disposition help to disturb the peace of the forest and the warble of the grove.
2. Special combination. warble tone Physics, a constant amplitude tone whose frequency is cyclically varied between certain limits, used in acoustic measurement to avoid irregularities associated with the use of single frequencies.
1933Proc. IRE XXI. 1183 The introduction of a ‘warble tone’ into the technique of acoustical measurements..has also supplied a growing interest in this kind of oscillation. 1958H. J. Gray Dict. Physics 527/1 A warble tone can be produced from an oscillator by rotating a small variable condenser in the tuned circuit at a constant speed. 1971B. J. Smith Acoustics v. 96 To attempt to eliminate the variations due to room modes for each frequency a band of noise is used, either in the form of white noise or in warble tones.
▪ II. warble, n.2|ˈwɔːb(ə)l|
Also 9 wabble, worble, wurble.
[Of uncertain origin; cf. MSw. varbulde boil, f. var pus (see ware n.6) + bulde tumour; also warbot, waribreed, and the dial, names for the warble-maggot, warback (Orkney), warbeetle (Norf.), warbie (Sc.), warblet (Suff.); and worbitten (Suff.), pierced by the larvæ of beetles (said of growing timber).]
1. A small hard tumour, caused by the pressure of the saddle on a horse's back. Usually pl.
1607Markham Cavel. iii. (1617) 78 You shall bathe his backe where the Saddle stood, which will keepe him from warbles. 1705Lond. Gaz. No. 4178/4 A..Gelding near 14 hands high,..a Warble newly broke on the off side of his Back. 1737Bracken Farriery Impr. (1757) II. 161 The first [Horse] will fret, gall, and be full of Warbles, with even the least Journey. 1831Youatt Horse ix. 169 The little tumours resulting from the pressure of the saddle are called warbles, and when they ulcerate they frequently become sitfasts.
2. A small tumour or swelling on the back of cattle, deer, etc. produced by the larva of a gad-fly (see 3).
a1585Montgomerie Flyting 314 Þe mair, the migram,..the warbillis, þe wood-worme. 1808Jamieson, Warble,..a swelling on the back of a cow or ox, A. Bor. [i.e. North of England]. 1834Youatt Cattle xix. 574 A great many of the cattle in the same pasture will have only a few warbles on their backs, while others will, in a manner, be covered with them. 1857Gosse Omphalos xi. 309 The Worble of the Ox. 1880Times 27 Sept. 12/6 Then, graziers are appealed to in order to prevent the hides of the living animals being injured by ‘warbles’, produced by parasitic insects.
3. The gadfly or its larva which produces ‘warbles’. Cf. warble-fly in 4.
1808Jamieson, Warble, a sort of worm that breeds betwixt the outer and inner skin of beasts, S. 1810Encycl. Brit. (ed. 4) VIII. 495/1 The larvæ of the Oestrus bovis are commonly known to the country people by the names of wormils, or wormuls, or warbles. 1814Illustr. North. Antiq. 404 The hole..(which has probably been made by a warble) in the skin of a beast that has been elf-shot. 1886Daily News 5 May 3/5 The warble, or bot fly..strikes the cattle in the summer months, depositing its eggs upon the skin, or hair. 1889Rep. U.S. Dept. Agric. I. 215 (Cent.) A very large percentage [of fifty chipmunks]..were infested with wabbles.
4. attrib. and Comb., as warble-hole, warble-lump, warble-maggot, warble tumour; warble-fly (see 3).
1877J. G. Wood Nat. Teaching, Usef. Arts vii. 396 The *Wurble-fly of the ox, scientifically known as Œstrus bovis.
1851–4Tomlinson Arts & Manuf. II. 30/1 Those [hides] which contain *warble or wurmal holes.
1886Daily News 5 May 3/5 The two familiar *warble-lumps which may be felt on the back and loins of the..beasts affected.
Ibid., The results of the presence of the *warble-maggots..is a general derangement of health.
1805R. W. Dickson Pract. Agric. II. 1188 *Warble tumours arising upon the backs or sides of horses.
▪ III. † ˈwarble, n.3 Obs.
In 7 werble.
[var. *whervel whorl n.]
The part of the spindle that receives the thread: = whorl n.
1561[Implied in warbled a.1] 1611Cotgr. s.v. Fusée, Fusée avec ses pesons; as Astragale; because commonly the worke on it resembles many spooles and werbles threaded, or ioyned together.
▪ IV. warble, v.1|ˈwɔːb(ə)l|
Forms: ? 4 werbel, ? 5 -il, 6 warbell, 6– warble.
[a. north-eastern OF. werbler, werbloier (Central OF. guerbler, guerbloier; 16th c. in corrupt forms verbloier, verboier, verbier), f. werble warble n.1, a. OHG. werbel, recorded only as glossing L. plectrum and sistrum, but prob. used in many other applications of the general sense ‘something that revolves’ (MHG. werbel, wirbel, mod.G. wirbel, whirlpool, whirlwind, spinning-top, vertex of the head, etc.); cogn. w. (M)Du. wervel harp, ON. hvirfill circle, ring, crown of the head, f. OTeut. root *hwerƀ- to revolve: see whirl n. and v., whorl.
The Fr. vb. seems to have primarily referred to the manipulation of the strings of a musical instrument (cf. 5 a below), but was also used for the production of delicate varieties of tone in singing. The n. werble has only one example in Godefr., where it may mean ‘modulation’ or ‘melody’. It is not possible to determine with certainty in which of its senses the Ger. n. was adopted in OF.; perh. in that of ‘plectrum’: perh. in that of ‘tuning-peg’ (so MHG. werbel). Mod.G. has a verb wirbeln to warble.
In Eng. the existence of the vb. before the 16th c. is doubtful (see the remark under 1 below), though there are several examples of the n. in the 14th c.]
†1.
a. intr. ? To resound.
b. trans. ? To proclaim by flourish of trumpets; ? to sound (a trumpet). Obs.
The identity of the word in quot. 13.. is uncertain; the sense may be ‘whirling’. In quot. a 1400–50 the reading and construction are doubtful.
13..Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 2004 Þe werbelande wynde wapped fro þe hyȝe, & drof vche dale ful of dryftes ful grete. a1400–50Wars Alex. 2222 Now ere his seggis all sett & þe saute neȝis, Were wakens be-twene, werbild in trompis. [Dubl. MS. Were wakned be-twene; werblet trompez.]
2. a. intr. To modulate the voice in singing; to sing with trills and quavers. In later use (influenced by sense 4), to sing softly and sweetly, in a birdlike manner; often merely a jocose substitute for sing.
1530Palsgr. 771/2, I warbell with the voyce, as connyng syngers do, Je verbie. It is a worlde to here hym synge, whan he is disposed to warbell. 1594Carew Huarte's Exam. viii. (1596) 114 Children..who haue a good voice, and warble in the throat, are most vntoward for all sciences. 1600Shakes. A.Y.L. ii. v. 38 Come, warble, come. 1611Cotgr., Fredonner, to shake, diuide, warble, quauer in singing. 1811Busby Dict. Mus. (ed. 3) s.v., To warble is to sing in a mode, or manner, imitative of birds. Those soprano performers, whose voices are of a clear, fluted, and shrill tone, and who run divisions with a close and liquid sweetness, are said to warble. 1884Mrs. Praed Zero xiv, Patti warbled in the theatre.
quasi-trans. with complement (jocular).
1850Thackeray Pendennis xliv, She'd sit down and sing to you, and gaze at you, until she warbled your soul out of your body a'most.
b. Of music: To sound in quavering, flexible melody; to be produced with free, smooth, and rapid modulations of pitch. ? Obs.
1714Gay Sheph. Wk. Wed. 3 Such Strains ne'er warble in the Linnet's Throat. a1751Doddridge Hymns, ‘Lord of the Sabbath’ iii, No Groans to mingle with the Songs, Which warble from immortal Tongues. 1813Sketches of Character (ed. 2) i, At the same instant, Emily's sweetest notes warbled in his ear.
c. poet. Of a small stream: To make melody as it flows. Also of the wind.
1579[see warbling ppl. a.1 1]. 1667Milton P.L. iii. 31 The flowrie Brooks beneath That wash thy hallowd feet, and warbling flow. 1706Phillips (ed. Kersey), To Warble..to gargle or purl, as a Brook or Stream. 1728–46Thomson Spring 399 High to their fount,..amid the hills And woodlands warbling round, trace up the brooks. 1783Crabbe Village ii. 201 As old Thames..Sees his young streams run warbling at his side. 1814Southey Roderick xviii. 207 The quiet voice Of waters warbling near.
d. U.S. To yodel. (In recent American Dicts.)
1880[see warbling vbl. n. c.]
3. trans.
a. To sing with quavering trills and runs, to utter melodiously, to carol. Also to warble forth, warble out, warble over.
1576Gascoigne Philomene (Arb.) 89 And many a note, she warbled wondrous wel. a1593Marlowe Ovid's Elegies i. i. 33 Elegian Muse, that warblest amorous laies. 1634Sir T. Herbert Trav. 207 The lookers on incessantly warble out soft trembling Musique. 1693Dryden Juvenal vi. 98 Softly She Warbles over all she hears. 1754Gray Pleasure 13 The Sky-lark warbles high His trembling thrilling ecstacy. 1848Thackeray Van. Fair xxv, Emmy..began to warble that stanza from the favourite song of ‘Wapping Old Stairs’. 1854Poultry Chron. II. 118/1 Again, we have that pretty songster..warbling forth its melodious song, the Canary. 1868L. M. Alcott Little Women xii, Ned, getting sentimental, warbled a serenade.
b. To express or celebrate in song or verse. Also with forth, † out.
1591Sylvester Du Bartas i. i. 18 O Father, grant I sweetly warble forth Vnto our seed the World's renowned Birth. 1623Milton Ps. cxxxvi. 89 Let us therfore warble forth His mighty Majesty and worth. 1634Sir. T. Herbert Trav. 7 The Riuer Læthe so warbled out by Poets. 1725Pope Odyss. i. 446 Warbling the Grecian woes with harp and voice. 1750Johnson Rambler No. 109 ⁋2 You..warble out your groans with uncommon elegance. 1868L. M. Alcott Little Women ii, Having warbled his thanks..Hugo departed. 1875Tennyson Q. Mary iii. vi, Or would you have me turn a sonneteer, And warble those brief-sighted eyes of hers?
4. intr.
†a. To twitter, as a young bird; to make uncertain attempts at singing. Also fig. Obs.
1605Bp. Andrewes Serm. (Heb. ii. 16) (1629) 8 It brought forth a Benedictus, and a Magnificat, from the true seed of Abraham; If it do not the like, from us, certainely it but flotes in our braines; we but warble about it. 1611Cotgr., Gazouiller,..to warble, as a young bird when it first begins, or learnes, to sing.
b. Of birds: To sing clearly and sweetly.
1606Warner Alb. Eng. xiv. lxxxii. (1612) 343 No birds were heard to warble. 1667Milton P.L. viii. 265 Birds on the branches warbling. 1732Pope Ess. Man i. 216 The life..which warbles thro' the vernal wood. 1750Gray Elegy (Pembroke text) 119 The Red-breast loves to build, & warble there. 1859E. Capern Ballads & Songs 138 When thrushes warble in the elm tree's crown.
c. Of telephones (spec. Trimphones): to make a distinctive trilling sound.
1965,1969[see Trimphone]. 1973G. Moffat Deviant Death v. 68 The telephone was warbling softly. 1981T. Barling Bikini Red North x. 206 The telephone warbled... ‘You must answer it.’
5.
†a. trans. To manipulate (the strings of a musical instrument) in playing. Obs.
1578H. Wotton Courtlie Controv. 285 Then hee tooke his Lute, and warbling the strings with tenne thousand delicate diuisions, hee beganne to saye [etc.]. 1638Junius Paint. Ancients 297 The left [hand]..did with divided fingers warble the strings.
†b. intr. Of a stringed instrument: To give forth melodious sounds. Obs.
1620T. Granger Div. Logike 66 The Harpe warbleth. 1794Mrs. Radcliffe Myst. Udolpho xv, The while we chant our ditties sweet To some soft shell that warbles near.
†c. To play upon as upon strings. Obs.
c1640J. Smyth Lives Berkeleys (1883) I. 371 Upon which stringe I have already warbled in the ill harmony of the six last lords lives. a1677Barrow Serm. Wks. 1686 III. 107 New objects with a gentle and gratefull touch warble upon the corporeal organs, or excite the spirits into a pleasant frisk of motion.
d. Sc. ‘To play the quicker measures of a piece of bagpipe music, in which there are a large number of grace-notes’ (Eng. Dial. Dict.)
▪ V. warble, v.2 Falconry.|ˈwɔːb(ə)l|
Also 5 warb(b)el(l, warbul, 6 warbile.
[Of obscure origin; perh. a. Du. wervelen to turn round (= OE. *hwierflian, whence hwierflung vbl. n. For the change of consonant cf. nable obs. and dial. var. navel.]
trans. To cross (the wings) together over the back after ‘rousing’ and ‘mantling’. Also absol. Hence ˈwarbling vbl. n.
1486Bk. St. Albans, Hawking a vj b, Whan she hath mantilled hir and bryngith booth her wynges to geider ouer hir backe ye shall say yowre hawke warbelleth hir wynges. Ibid. c viii b, She warbbelyth when she drawith booth her wyngys ouer the myddys of her backe. 1575Turberv. Falconrie 134 Stroke on hir wings that shee [your Spar-hawke] may mantle and warble. c1575Perf. Bk. Kepinge Sparhawkes (1886) 10 Yf good, let her styre, rouse, mantle, or warbile a while. 1632Guillim's Displ. Heraldry iii. xx. (ed. 2) 228 Which action you shall terme, the warbling of her wings. 1852R. F. Burton Falconry Valley Indus vi. 65 foot-n., Rousing themselves, ‘mantling’ and ‘warbling’ (crossing the wings over the back, after stretching the legs), as though they had escaped a prison.
▪ VI. † ˈwarble, v.3 Obs.
[Perh. a. Du. wervelen: see prec. Cf. wobble v.]
1. trans. To shake or cause to vibrate, to brandish.
1510Stanbridge Vocabula (W. de W.) D iv, Vibro, to warble. 1548Thomas Ital. Dict. (1567), Vibrare, to shake or warble, as to shake a sword against the sunne.
†2. intr. To vibrate, quiver; to wobble. Obs.
1549,1632[see warbling ppl. a.2]. a1560Jack Jugler 231 She quauerith, and wardelith [? read warbelith], like one in a galiard Euerye ioynt in her bodye and euerie part. 1604T. Wright Passions v. §2. 221 The heartes of men without thee their last end and eternall quietnesse, are ever ranging, warbling, and never out of motion. 1688Holme Armoury ii. 17/1 Stars..seem to have resplendent Rays waving or warbling forth. Ibid. iv. ix. (Roxb.) 402/1 The English shipps haue..ouer the sterne, a Red square ensigne as large as the ship will giue liberty to Warble about without touching of the mizen mast.
▪ VII. † ˈwarble, v.4 Obs. rare—1.
[Of obscure origin.]
intr. ? To quarrel, wrangle. ? Hence ˈwarbling vbl. n. and ppl. a.
1600Holland Livy x. xl. 382 There arose some warbling [altercatio] amongst the chicken-maisters touching the auspice..of that day. 1632Lithgow Trav. i. 2 [He] can crowd and chawe from his warbling waspishnes, this stinging censure of absurd vntrueth. 1647Trapp Comm. Gen. xvi. 5 (1650) 130 These couples that are ever warbling, can neither be at peace within themselves,..nor pray as they should do to God,..which if they did often..they could not disagree. |