1635–45; < It trillo quaver or warble in singing ≪
Gmc; cf. D give trillen to vibrate, late ME trillen to shake or rock (something)
verb (used with object)
1. to sing or play with a vibratory or quavering effect.
2. Phonetics. to produce (a sound) with a trill.
3. (of birds, insects, etc.) to sing or utter in a succession of rapidly alternating sounds.
verb (used without object)
4. to resound vibrantly, or with a rapid succession of sounds, as the voice, song, or laughter.
5. to utter or make a sound or succession of sounds resembling such singing, as a bird, frog, grasshopper, or person laughing.
6. to execute a shake or trill with the voice or on a musical instrument.
7. Phonetics. to execute a trill, esp. with the tongue, as while singing, talking, or whistling.
8. the act or sound of trilling.
9. Music. a rapid alternation of two adjacent tones; a shake.
10. a similar sound, or succession of sounds, uttered or made by a bird, an insect, a person laughing, etc.
a. a sequence of repetitive, rapid, vibratory movements produced in any free articulator or membrane by a rush of air expelled from the lungs and often causing a corresponding sequence of contacts between the vibrating articulator and another organ or surface.
b. a speech sound produced by such a trill.
perhaps we may understand why it is for us not merely noise but a song of poetry and emotion.’