- shrill (adj.)
- late 14c., schrylle "high-pitched, piercing" (of the voice), probably related to Old English scralletan "to sound loudly" and of imitative origin (compare Low German schrell, German schrill "piercing, shrill"). Related: Shrillness; shrilly (adv.).
- shrill (v.)
- "to sound shrilly," c. 1300, imitative (see shrill (adj.). Related: Shrilled; shrilling.