Tootle

Part of speech: verb, noun

Definitions

1. To sound a horn or whistle in short bursts ; to move along at a relaxed pace in a vehicle or on foot ; to give out a series of brief toots
2. Blowing a short note on a horn or whistle ; ambling off casually by car or on foot ; producing little blasts of sound
3. Sounding a horn in short toots ; setting off at an easy, unhurried pace ; emitting brief tooting noises as a whistle or horn does

Etymology: "Tootle" is simply "toot" with a frequentative suffix. The "-le" ending marks an action repeated or carried on over and over, so the base verb "toot", a short blast of sound from a horn or whistle, becomes a verb for sounding such blasts again and again, or for playing a horn in a light, repeated way. The pattern is an old one in English, seen also in words like "twinkle" from "twink" and "wriggle" from "wrig". The word therefore describes a sound made in short, repeated puffs rather than one long blast, which is why it suits a car horn tapped politely or a train whistling along the line. Its meaning has stayed close to the sound itself, so the picture it paints is of the noise rather than of any figurative extension.

Synonyms: toot, pipe, honk, trill