skirl
Part of speech: verb
noun
Morphological type: simple
Etymology: Originally from Scots and Northern English dialects (as a verb), probably of Old Norse origin; ultimately imitative.
Inflected forms:
form: skirls
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: skirling
pos: verb
tags: participle
present
form: skirled
pos: verb
tags: participle
past
form: skirled
pos: verb
tags: past
form: skirls
pos: noun
tags: plural
Senses:
gloss: To make a shrill sound, as of bagpipes.
pos: verb
tags: Northern-England
Scotland
examples: Come here, or stay where ye are, and skirl as loud ye can — it's a' ye're gude for — l say, ye auld deevil, skirl — skirl — louder — louder, woman — gar the gentles hear ye in the ha' — I have heard ye as far off as the Bass for a less matter.
1829, James Hogg (as the Ettrick Shepherd), The p and the q, Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 26, page 693,
He gloom'd and he skirl'd, and, when in hard case, / He whiles gae his mother a yerk on the face;
Drums began to thump in a variety of rhythms. The flautists were not sure what to play. The shawm began to skirl.
gloss: A shrill sound, as of bagpipes.
pos: noun
tags: Northern-England
Scotland
examples: To a resounding wail headed by the King-Kong skirl, all gangs joined in hauling in the net.
'Have we found a son only to lose him?' she cried, 'And what for? For the skirl of the pipes, is it?[…]'
2006 [Bantam], Nick Drake, Nefertiti: The Book of the Dead, 2011, Black Swan, page 191,
The last servants and late officials hurried into their places, the guards took their positions, and then, with a beating of the drums and a skirl of reed pipes, the whole group made its way back across the courtyard and up the stairs to the Window of Appearances between the palace and the Great Temple.
They were greeted with applause, medals and the skirl of bagpipes from our lone piper - a sound some told us encouraged tired legs for the last half-mile as the pipes could be heard on the mountain.
gloss: A blast (of wind-blown snow or rain); a gust (especially if accompanied by snow or rain, or a shill or whistling sound).
pos: noun
examples: The wind can blow the bulk of a skirt between a woman's legs, or wrap her in a twist, or billow underneath so skirls of wind touch faintly, delightfully. Some women hear skirts murmuring or sighing, or conversing with the flesh they cover. But most skirts drape in silence, the silence of slow snow falling, or the hushed liquid glide of a[…]
Skirls of snow swept over the pavements, and in the roadway the tracks of cars were lined with brownish slush.
Skirls of wind whisked the rain around us, blew it into our jet-lagged faces. A tracksuited jogger with a collie on a lead ran past, looking like he was in a foul mood[…]
... skirls of snow have settled in the mountains and the first winter thunderstorms have come and gone. The tourists have fled, but there are often spells of good weather until Christmas. Though the little hotels are empty, the food is[…]
... it if one looked carefully enough; but the middle distance was blotted out by skirls of rain. One could taste the dry salt on one's lips, feel its powdery dryness upon the throat and ear. Soon we crossed the bar and the few dim lights.
It brought great skirls of snow, like the waves of the sea, raking her skin and flurrying at her clothes with a thousand sharp fingers. She staggered forwards, leaning into the wind to make progress. Mal was in the midst of the storm , hunched[…]
... skirls of snow that further obscured her vision and stung her cheeks.
Skirls of snow are swirling across the ice of Indian Lake, meaning things are about to pick up again.
Skirls of rain blotted out the middle distance of the sea. The corsair's galiots, lying at anchor off the shore, were rocking and swaying wildly in the storm. Flashes of lightning lit up the sky, followed by a sudden torrent of[…]
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