shrilly
Somewhat shrill.
Adjective
- Somewhat shrill.
- The night—its silence—its rest, was rent in twain by a savage, a sharp, a shrilly sound that ran from end to end of Thornfield Hall. - 1847, Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre:
- Yet there they sat, as stones, silent and still. / Sudden a voice, a feeble shrilly voice, / Rose from the inner tent […] - 1860, Robert Stafford, Enoch, a Poem in Three Books:
Origin
Etymology tree English shrill Proto-Indo-European *-kos Proto-Germanic *-gaz Proto-West Germanic *-g Old English -iġ Middle English -y English -y English shrilly From shrill + -y.
Forms
Adverb
- In a shrill manner.
- [T]he thwarted Hawk circled above, calling shrilly. - 1948, Alec H. Chisholm, Bird Wonders of Australia, page 96:
- Anyone who denounces violent self-defense against the Jew is a coward. He may know the crimes of the Jew, but subconsciously he knows that ACTUALLY taking action would mean sacrificing the bread and circus. It might...
Origin
Etymology tree English shrill Middle English -ly English -ly English shrilly From shrill + -ly.