Primary
''trill'' ▫ᴱᴺ｜Definition｜1st｜20250815011811-00-⌔
trill - Wiktionary, the free dictionary
English
Noun
trill (plural trills)
- (music) A rapid alternation between an indicated note and the one above it as an ornament; in musical notation usually indicated with the letters tr written above the staff.
- (phonetics) A type of consonantal sound that is produced by vibrations of the tongue against the place of articulation: for example, Spanish ⟨rr⟩,/r/.
- A tremulous high-pitched vocal sound produced by cats.
Verb
trill (third-person singular simple present trills, present participle trilling, simple past and past participle trilled)
- (intransitive) To create a trill sound; to utter trills or a trill; to play or sing in tremulous vibrations of sound; to have a trembling sound; to quaver.
- ✤ Synonym: warble
- ✤ To judge of trilling notes and tripping feet.1
- (transitive) To impart the quality of a trill to; to utter as, or with, a trill.
- ✤ to trill a note, or the letter r
- ✤ The sober-suited songstress trills her lay.2
Verb
trill (third-person singular simple present trills, present participle trilling, simple past and past participle trilled)
- (intransitive, obsolete) To trickle.
- ✤ I come now from seeing of a shepheard at Medoc […] who had no signe at all of genitorie parts: But where they should be, are three little holes, by which his water doth continually tril from him.3
- ✤ And now and then an ample tear trilled down/Her delicate cheek.4
- ✤ Whisper’d sounds/Of waters, trilling from the riven stone.5
Verb
trill (third-person singular simple present trills, present participle trilling, simple past and past participle trilled)
- (intransitive, obsolete) To twirl.
Adjective
trill (comparative triller, superlative trillest)
- (African-American Vernacular, slang) True; respected.
- ✤ All my trill niggas know who be bringin da funk/Lees and shell toes like it’s Black History Month6
- ✤ LAMAR: Oh, really? That’s a nice change from fools comin’up on us./FRANKLIN: That’s trill, homie./LAMAR: You damn straight that’s trill, partner, but it’s a shame I don’t believe it. You wanna drop some notes on that shit, I’ll give you the odds, homie.7
- ✤ *Middle finger to the critics, me and my nigga Skrillex/You know we finna kill it, A$AP we the trillest *8
Etymology 1
From Middle English trillen, from Italian trillo, trillare. Compare German trillern, Norwegian trille, Swedish trilla.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation, General American, Australian) IPA: /tɹɪl/, [t̠ʰɹ̠̊ɪl]
- Audio (Southern England): 🔊
- (Scotland, Wales) IPA: /tɾɪl/
- (New Zealand) IPA: /tɹəl/, [t̠ʰɹ̠̊əl]
- Rhymes: -ɪl
Etymology 2
Perhaps identical to Etymology 3, but compare the same sense of drill, and German trillen, drillen.
Etymology 3
Probably related to Old English þweran (“to twirl, stir”). Compare twirl, thirl, and Swedish trilla, Norwegian trille, etc.
Etymology 4
Perhaps a blend of true + real, or from keep it real, exhibiting the fill–feel merger.
Printed 2026-06-28.
(echo:: @ ⌗)
Link to original Footnotes
1692, John Dryden, Cleomenes, the Spartan Hero, a Tragedy: ↩
a. 1749 (date written), James Thomson, “Summer”, in The Seasons, London: […] A[ndrew] Millar, and sold by Thomas Cadell, […], published 1768, →OCLC: ↩
1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 30, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC: ↩
c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iii]: ↩
1737, Richard Glover, Leonidas Book ↩
2007, “Black History Month”, in The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust!, performed by Saul Williams: ↩
2013, Grand Theft Auto V, Rockstar Games, level/area: Repossession: ↩
2013, “Wild for the Night”, performed by A$AP Rocky: ↩
Secondary
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