Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun The act, process, or function of stridulating; the power of so doing, or the thin, harsh, creaking noise thus produced; a shrilling.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun The act of making shrill sounds or musical notes by rubbing together certain hard parts, as is done by the males of many insects, especially by Orthoptera, such as crickets, grasshoppers, and locusts.
- noun The noise itself.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
high-pitched chirping, grating, hissing, or squeaking sound, as malecrickets andgrasshoppers make by rubbing certain body parts together.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a shrill grating or chirping noise made by some insects by rubbing body parts together
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Mary Ball (1812-1892) discovered the underwater stridulation of the Notonectidæ
The Prime Minister's haiku nwhyte 2009
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After all, where else would I be able to brag about the happiness I found in finally hearing what the defensive stridulation of a dung beetle sounds like?
Rolling On 2005
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After all, where else would I be able to brag about the happiness I found in finally hearing what the defensive stridulation of a dung beetle sounds like?
February 2005 2005
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His voice becomes a mere stridulation for the stating of formula; he seems deaf to all but properly enunciated problems.
First Men in the Moon Herbert George 2006
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Another nice little adaptive feature of H. nigriceps is that some of the quills have become modified into an organ of stridulation.
The Song of The Dodo David Quammen 2004
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Another nice little adaptive feature of H. nigriceps is that some of the quills have become modified into an organ of stridulation.
The Song of The Dodo David Quammen 2004
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The shrill, small voice of the sunbird is almost indistinguishable from the stridulation of one of the leaf insects, which makes its amorous noises in the evening as well as during the sunny hours.
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That he was not the only one to respond with an involuntary stridulation of shock was shown by the number of abrasive chirrups that echoed in close succession through the various individual workstations.
Diuturnity's Dawn Foster, Alan Dean, 1946- 2002
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That he was not the only one to respond with an involuntary stridulation of shock was shown by the number of abrasive chirrups that echoed in close succession through the various individual workstations.
Diuturnity's Dawn Foster, Alan Dean, 1946- 2002
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The woods were very quiet, except for a soft scratching sound in the distance that might have been the stridulation of some insect—but Kirk immediately put that thought away; on a new planet, there was no predicting anything at all without data, and your suppositions could kill you without warning.
Doctor’s Orders Diane Duane 2000
rolig commented on the word stridulation
"Their laughter was like the stridulation of the ghosts of grasshoppers."
– John Collier, "Evening Primrose", Fancies and Goodnights
January 23, 2008
sionnach commented on the word stridulation
Methinks Mr. Collier is trying just a leetle bit too hard here. "stridulating grasshopper ghosts ?"
Donnez-moi un break.
January 23, 2008
reesetee commented on the word stridulation
Maybe they're related to uselessness. ;->
January 24, 2008
yarb commented on the word stridulation
I'm trying and failing to parse that ridiculous simile. Obviously Collier spends more time in grasshopper Hades than I.
January 24, 2008
uselessness commented on the word stridulation
Sounds like something from the Bulwer-Lytton contest!
January 24, 2008
rolig commented on the word stridulation
Just to provide some context: The people who are laughing have been living for decades in a department store and only emerge when the store is closed; in order not to be heard by the night watchman, they only speak in whispers, so this is how they laugh. "Evening Primrose" is a brilliant short story, and the simile, I think is wonderfully precise.
January 28, 2008