Etymology: < chirr v.

Etymology: A modern formation naturally expressing a prolonged and somewhat sharply trilled sound: compare whirr, birr, burr, purr; with chirring compare the more ponderous jarring. As a recent onomatopoeia, chirr was evidently largely suggested by the already existing chirm, chirk, chirt, chirp, chirrup, of which it retains the common phonetic element and the common kernel of meaning. Along with the subsequently formed chirl, and the many derivatives of chirp, etc., these form a well-marked recent group or ‘family’ of words, which mutually illustrate and help each other's meaning. Thus chirr expresses continued and uniform trilled sound; in chirk, chirt, chirp this sound is abruptly stopped by oral action; in chirrup, a modulation is introduced before the stoppage; chirl, especially in its northern form chirr'l, suggests the passing of the chirr into a warbling modulation; while chirm with its suggestions of verbal nouns in -m of divers origin, e.g. scream, bloom, blossom, rhythm, spasm, assumes the appearance of a derivative of chir-. If these words, instead of being nearly all recent, were of prehistoric formation, or of Aryan standing, chir- would certainly be assumed as the ‘root’, and the other words as out-growths from it.