STRIDULATE - 5 definitions found
stridulate v 1: make a shrill creaking noise by rubbing together special bodily structures; "male insects such as crickets or grasshoppers stridulate" [syn: stridulate, clitter] Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Edition (2003) stridulate intransitive verb (-lated; -lating) Etymology: back-formation from stridulation, from French, high-pitched sound, from Latin stridulus shrill Date: 1838 to make a shrill creaking noise by rubbing together special bodily structures — used especially of male insects (as crickets or grasshoppers) • stridulation noun • stridulatory adjective Oxford English Reference Dictionary
English Explanatory Dictionary stridulate v.intr. (of insects, esp. the cicada and grasshopper) make a shrill sound by rubbing esp. the legs or wing-cases together. øøstridulant adj. stridulation n. [F striduler f. L stridulus creaking (as STRIDENT)] Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) Stridulate \Strid"u*late\, v. t. [See Stridulous.] To make a shrill, creaking noise; specifically (Zo["o]l.), to make a shrill or musical sound, such as is made by the males of many insects. |
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