whistle

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   To make a high musical sound by forcing air through your lips or teeth.

   He whistled a cheerful tune as he walked.

2. 2
   noun

   A small device you blow into to make a loud, high sound.

   The referee blew his whistle to stop the game.

3. 3
   noun

   A high, shrill sound made by whistling or by air or steam.

   We heard the whistle of the wind through the trees.

4. 4
   verb

   To move quickly with a high rushing sound.

   The bullets whistled past his head.

From Middle English whistlen, from Old English hwistlan, hwistlian (“to whistle”), from Proto-West Germanic *hwistlōn, from Proto-Germanic *hwistlōną (“to make a hissing sound”). Cognate with Swedish vissla (“to whistle”), Icelandic hvísla (“to whisper”), Russian свистеть (svistetʹ, “to whistle”).

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