I. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English hwistlung, from hwistlian to whistle + -ung -ing
1.
a. : an act or instance of emitting whistles
by repeated whistling and the display of a red lamp they managed to warn the driver — O.S.Nock
myna birds kept up an impudent cackling and whistling — John Dos Passos
b. : whistle
the whistling of the wind
2. : roaring 2
II. adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from present participle of whistlen to whistle
: equipped with or making the sound of a whistle
whistling teakettle
came in to land in a whistling sideslip — Sydney (Australia) Bulletin
• whis·tling·ly adverb