Chirres

/ˈtʃɪrɪz/ verb, third-person singular

Definition

Makes a churring or trilling sound; produces the characteristic vibratory noise associated with certain insects and birds.

Etymology

Third-person singular present tense of 'chirre' (variant of 'chirr'), formed with the standard '-es' suffix. In English, verbs add '-s' or '-es' in third-person singular to mark agreement with the subject.

Kelly Says

The third-person singular '-s' (he chirres, she chirres, it chirres) is so basic that we barely notice it, but it's one of the few verb agreement markers that English retained after losing most of its other grammatical endings—this '-s' is a fossil of Old English's much richer system.

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