WHISTLES
Noun
whistles
plural of whistle
Verb
whistles
Third-person singular simple present indicative form of whistle
Source: Wiktionary
WHISTLE
Whis"tle, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Whistled; p. pr. & vb. n. Whistling.]
Etym: [AS. hwistlian; akin to Sw. hvissla, Dan. hvisle, Icel. hvisla
to whisper, and E. whisper. Whisper.]
1. To make a kind of musical sound, or series of sounds, by forcing
the breath through a small orifice formed by contracting the lips;
also, to emit a similar sound, or series of notes, from the mouth or
beak, as birds.
The weary plowman leaves the task of day, And, trudging homeward,
whistles on the way. Gay.
2. To make a shrill sound with a wind or steam instrument, somewhat
like that made with the lips; to blow a sharp, shrill tone.
3. To sound shrill, or like a pipe; to make a sharp, shrill sound;
as, a bullet whistles through the air.
The wild winds whistle, and the billows roar. Pope.
Whis"tle, v. t.
1. To form, utter, or modulate by whistling; as, to whistle a tune or
an air.
2. To send, signal, or call by a whistle.
He chanced to miss his dog; we stood still till he had whistled him
up. Addison.
To whistle off. (a) To dismiss by a whistle; -- a term in hawking.
"AS a long-winged hawk when he is first whistled off the fist, mounts
aloft." Burton. (b) Hence, in general, to turn loose; to abandon; to
dismiss.
I 'ld whistle her off, and let her down the wind To prey at fortune.
Shak.
Note: "A hawk seems to have been usually sent off in this way,
against the wind when sent in search of prey; with or down the wind,
when turned loose, and abandoned." Nares.
Whis"tle, n. Etym: [AS. hwistle a pipe, flute, whistle. See Whistle,
v. i.]
1. A sharp, shrill, more or less musical sound, made by forcing the
breath through a small orifice of the lips, or through or instrument
which gives a similar sound; the sound used by a sportsman in calling
his dogs; the shrill note of a bird; as, the sharp whistle of a boy,
or of a boatswain's pipe; the blackbird's mellow whistle.
Might we but hear The folded flocks, penned in their wattled cotes, .
. . Or whistle from the lodge. Milton.
The countryman could not forbear smiling, . . . and by that means
lost his whistle. Spectator.
They fear his whistle, and forsake the seas. Dryden.
2. The shrill sound made by wind passing among trees or through
crevices, or that made by bullet, or the like, passing rapidly
through the air; the shrill noise (much used as a signal, etc.) made
by steam or gas escaping through a small orifice, or impinging
against the edge of a metallic bell or cup.
3. An instrument in which gas or steam forced into a cavity, or
against a thin edge, produces a sound more or less like that made by
one who whistles through the compressed lips; as, a child's whistle;
a boatswain's whistle; a steam whistle (see Steam whistle, under
Steam).
The bells she jingled, and the whistle blew. Pope.
4. The mouth and throat; -- so called as being the organs of
whistling. [Colloq.]
So was her jolly whistle well ywet. Chaucer.
Let's drink the other cup to wet our whistles. Walton.
Whistle duck (Zoöl.), the American golden-eye.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition