skirling

[skur-ling]

noun

Scot. and North England.

1. the act of shrieking.

Word History and Origins

Origin of skirling¹

First recorded in 1775–85; skirl + -ing ¹

Example Sentences

Another cliff-ghast and then a third fell in the stream or on the rocks nearby, stark dead; and then the rest fled, skirling and chittering into the dark toward the north.

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For long periods Old Trafford seemed to be staging a pub game on a windy day, the ball skirling inexorably towards the United goal, every clearance boomeranging back in the sleet.

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Several Celtic bands are scheduled to perform throughout the day but the musical highlight may be the skirling of 23 massed pipe bands for opening ceremonies.

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He turned Ms. Nicks’s “Gold Dust Woman” into a darker incantation before taking a long, skirling, keening solo in his own “I’m So Afraid”; “Tusk” was a cry of despair, not a novelty.

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Jon could hear it skirling against the Wall and over the icy battlements as he went to the common hall for the evening meal.

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