Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Shrill

Shrill , adjective

[Old English shril, schril; akin to LG. schrell, German schrill. See Shrill,v. i.]

Acute; sharp; piercing; having or emitting a sharp, piercing tone or sound; -- said of a sound, or of that which produces a sound.
Hear the shrill whistle which doth order give To sounds confused. — Shakespeare
Let winds be shrill, let waves roll high. — Byron

Shrill , noun

A shrill sound. [Obsolete] — Spenser

Shrill , intransitive verb

[Old English schrillen, akin to German schrillen; compare Anglo-Saxon scralletan to resound loudly, Icelandic skrolta to jolt, Swedish skralla to shrill, Norw. skryla, skr{not transcribed}la. Compare Skirl.]

To utter an acute, piercing sound; to sound with a sharp, shrill tone; to become shrill.
Break we our pipes, that shrilledloud as lark. — Spenser
No sounds were heard but of the shrilling cock. — Goldsmith
His voice shrilled with passion. — L. Wallace

Shrill , transitive verb

To utter or express in a shrill tone; to cause to make a shrill sound.
How poor Andromache shrills her dolors forth. — Shakespeare