yodel

or yo·dle

[yohd-l]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR yodel ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with or without object), yo·deled, yo·del·ing, or (especially British) yo·delled, yo·del·ling.

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

to call or shout in a similar fashion.

noun

a song, refrain, etc., so sung.

a call or shout so uttered.

RELATED WORDS

shout, carol, warble, trill

Nearby words

Origin of yodel

First recorded in 1865–70, yodel is from the German word jodeln

Related formsyo·del·er, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for yodel

In a minute he'll yodel like the singing cowboys in the movies he loved so much as a kid.
The Stacks: The Neville Brothers Stake Their Claim as Bards of the Bayou|John Ed Bradley|April 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Graham promptly answered: "Yes, silly—she'll wear goatskin—and she'll yodel."
Highacres|Jane Abbott
I explored the vicinity of the cave, and risked a yodel or two, but there was no response.
The Boy Scouts Book of Stories|Various
The strife rewarded, the ascent accomplished, we are profoundly grateful for the yodel of human fellowship.
Mountain Meditations|L. Lind-af-Hageby

We understand that the yodel waistcoat will also be heard this spring.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 158, March 17, 1920|Various
It immediately became a case of he who laughs first, lives to yodel.
"And they thought we wouldn't fight"|Floyd Gibbons

British Dictionary definitions for yodel

yodel

noun

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 -dels, -delling or -delled or US -dels, -deling or -deled

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

Derived Formsyodeller, noun

Word Origin for yodel

C19: from German jodeln, of imitative origin

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

Word Origin and History for yodel

yodel

1827, from German jodeln, from dialectal German jo, an exclamation of joy, of imitative origin.