stridulate

verb

strid·​u·​late ˈstri-jə-ˌlāt 

stridulated; stridulating

intransitive verb

: to make a shrill creaking noise by rubbing together special bodily structures

—used especially of male insects (such as crickets or grasshoppers)

stridulation

ˌstri-jə-ˈlā-shən 

noun

stridulatory

ˈstri-jə-lə-ˌtȯr-ē 

adjective

Did you know?

Stridulate is one member of a word family that has its ancestry in the Latin word stridulus, meaning "shrill." The word alludes to the sharp, high-pitched sound that is produced by a number of insects—particularly crickets and grasshoppers but also certain beetles—as well as other animals, usually as a mating call or a signal of territorial behavior. Stridulus comes from stridere, which is the direct source of our noun stridor, a word found in medical dictionaries. Stridor means "a harsh, shrill, or creaking noise" and also "a harsh vibrating sound heard during respiration in cases of obstruction of the air passages."

Examples of stridulate in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

To convince females of their vigor, males will stridulate, producing sounds that can be heard from several meters away. —Christie Wilcox, Discover Magazine, 1 Nov. 2017

After a fierce physical altercation, victorious male crabs sometimes stridulate, planting one claw into the ground and rubbing it vigorously with the other to both visibly and audibly revel in their triumph. —Christie Wilcox, Discover Magazine, 7 Nov. 2017

Decrepit, senile, and miserable, Tithonus eventually shrank into a cicada who stridulated ceaselessly, calling out for release. —Tad Friend, The New Yorker, 24 Mar. 2017

Word History

Etymology

back-formation from stridulation, from French, high-pitched sound, from Latin stridulus shrill

First Known Use

1838, in the meaning defined above

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!