yodel

Sometimes yo·dle

[yohd-l]

verb (used with or without object)

yodeled, yodeling , yodelled, yodelling .

1. to sing with frequent changes from the ordinary voice to falsetto and back again, in the manner of Swiss and Tyrolean mountaineers.

2. to call or shout in a similar fashion.

noun

1. a song, refrain, etc., so sung.

2. a call or shout so uttered.

yodel

/ ˈjəʊdəl /

noun

1. an effect produced in singing by an abrupt change of register from the chest voice to falsetto, esp in popular folk songs of the Swiss Alps

verb

1. to sing (a song) in which a yodel is used

Other Word Forms

• yodeler noun
• yodeller noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of yodel¹

First recorded in 1835–40, from southern German dialect jodeln, from jo, an exclamation

Word History and Origins

Origin of yodel¹

C19: from German jodeln, of imitative origin

Example Sentences

It can elegantly vault octaves, scoop notes without a croaky glottal fry and crack words into multi-note, velvety yodels.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Here, it was pure joy to watch HORA’s actors embrace their inner hobbits, dwarves, wizards, orcs and elves — including one that yodels!

Read more on New York Times

Burnett and her Tarzan yodel returned to series TV for the first time in decades with the recent arrival of Netflix’s “A Little Help With Carol Burnett.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

A rooster, or maybe two, yodeled somewhere out of sight.

Read more on New York Times

In the "official" chart, Please, Please Me was denied the top spot by yodelling crooner Frank Ifield and his song Wayward Wind.

Read more on BBC