ululation
/ˌjuljuˈleɪʃən/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.21 in modern English
9
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "The overthrown Martian set up a prolonged ululation, and immediately a second glittering giant, answering him, appeared over the trees[.]"
- "As we started there broke from the thick silent woods behind us a sudden great ululation of the ape-men, which may have been a cheer of triumph at our departure or a jeer of contempt at our flight."
- "Because it is not as reliable as the simple ululation or the louder cross-register ululation, it should be allowed a certain amount of preparation time."
- "Maryam, my research assistant, and I were going through some interviews we had conducted the previous day, when cheerful ululation disrupted our discussion. Coming from the culture of north Sudan, where such ululation may announce the happy news of a wedding or a circumcision, I assumed a similar situation was taking place […]"
- "[T]he sound of the ululation brought my own past and future, my entire life, in front of my eyes like a very long road, and it was as if this ululation was reaching the ear from its most distant and shadowy edges. This is how my day began."
- "The Queen had heard ululation many times in the past as she travelled the world, particularly in Africa, but this time, the sound made her shiver. Ululation is found in some singing techniques and ritual situations."
Etymology
] Borrowed from Latin ululātiō, from ululō (“to howl, shriek, yell”) (from a reduplicated Proto-Indo-European imitative root) + -ātiō (suffix forming nouns relating to some action or the result of an action) (from Proto-Indo-European *-tis (suffix forming abstract or action nouns from verb roots)). By surface analysis, ululate + -ion.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˌjuljuˈleɪʃən/
- British English: /juːljʊˈleɪʃ(ə)n/