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tootle

tootle

1 9.6
A short light sound made by a wind instrument
  • noun
  • /ˈtuːtəl/
  • Informal
translation icon : sonido alegre
  • "Rang" is actually the wrong word; it was more like a "tootle-toot" that kept getting louder, but I liked its familiar sound because it meant Constanze.
  • tootle-toot

Examples

  • I don't know when the tootle-toot began.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • The only thing we could hear was that tootle-toot until it suddenly stopped, ceased to bother us, and was as silent as we were.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • But the tootle-toot got louder each time.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • The cheerful tootle of the flute filled the air during the festival.

  • Children played a joyful tootle on their recorders in the park.

  • We listened to the sweet tootle of the saxophone as the sun set.

Synonyms

toot
vstootle
6 2.9

A short sharp sound that a horn or whistle makes

is lighter and more casual and played on wind instruments
tinkety-tonk
vstootle
9.9

A light cheerful sound like small bells or a music box

is a casual short instrumental sound rather than a continuous melody

How Light

whisper
85 2.0
murmur
36 4.1
tootle
  • Informal
1 9.6
toot
6 2.9
blare
9 4.2

Surface Forms

tootle singular
tootles plural

Morphology

tootle = toot (transparent) = toot + le

The sound sense is directly built from 'toot' with a light frequentative/diminutive suffix, so the meaning is easy to infer.

Etymology

Tootle comes from the simple sound toot ('short horn sound') plus a little -le that makes it feel small and friendly. So a tootle is a light, casual musical sound.