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skirl

[ skurl ]
/ skɜrl /
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See synonyms for: skirl / skirled / skirling / skirls on Thesaurus.com
verb (used without object)
to play the bagpipe.
Scot. and North England. to shriek.
noun
the sound of a bagpipe.
Scot. and North England. any shrill sound.
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Origin of skirl

1350–1400; Middle English scirlen,skrillen (v.), perhaps <Scandinavian; compare Norwegian skrella boom, crash

Words nearby skirl

skip-tooth saw, skip tracer, skip welding, skip zone, ski rack, skirl, skirling, skirmish, Skirnir, Skíros, skirr
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Words related to skirl

blare, hiss, blast, fife, flute, pipe, shriek, signal, sound, toot, tootle, trill, warble, wheeze, whine, whiz

How to use skirl in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for skirl

skirl
/ (skɜːl, Scottish skɪrl) /
verb (intr)
Scot and Northern English dialect (esp of bagpipes) to emit a shrill sound
to play the bagpipes
noun
the sound of bagpipes
a shrill sound

Word Origin for skirl

C14: probably of Scandinavian origin; see shrill
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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