ˈhwis(ə)lə(r) also ˈwi- noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English hwistlere, from hwistlian to whistle + -ere -er
1. : one that whistles: as
a. : a player on the fife, flute, or pipe
b.
(1) : any of various Australian and Polynesian birds (as of the genus Pachycephala ) that are related to the shrikes and have a whistling call — called also thickhead
(2) : american goldeneye
c. : a large mountain marmot ( Marmota caligata ) of northwestern No. America of a hoary color with blackish head and feet
d. : a broken-winded horse
e. : a rising and falling noise heard on radio resulting from an electrical disturbance caused by a lightning discharge
2. : one that evokes whistles of admiration
it was a whistler of a story … while it lasted — Newsweek