cackler
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Noun: 1. A person who laughs or talks in a loud, sharp, and often foolish manner: This meaning focuses on the human behavior of making loud, raucous, or silly sounds, similar to a hen's cackle. 2. A hen that has just laid an egg and emits a shrill squawk: This is the literal, zoological meaning referring to the specific vocalization of a poultry bird. 3. Any of various insectivorous Old World birds with a loud incessant song; in some classifications considered members of the family Muscicapidae: This is a specific ornithological term for certain songbirds known for their persistent, chattering calls.
Usage and Examples
- Noun (Person):
- The meeting was disrupted by a constant cackler in the back row who found everything amusing.
- He's known as the office cackler because of his loud, distinctive laugh.
- Noun (Hen):
- The farmer went to collect the egg after hearing the cackler in the coop.
- Noun (Bird):
- Birdwatchers listened for the distinctive call of the cackler in the forest.
Advanced Usage and Notes
- The term is often used derogatorily or humorously when referring to a person. It implies a lack of restraint or sophistication in one's laughter or chatter.
- The primary sense for general use is the first definition (a loud person). The ornithological sense is specialized and less common in everyday language.
Variants and Related Words
- Cackle (verb/noun): To emit a loud, broken, and often shrill sound, like a hen; or the sound itself. This is the root word from which "cackler" is derived.
- The witches began to cackle around the cauldron.
- Cackling (adjective/gerund): Describing the act or sound of cackling.
- We heard cackling laughter from the next room.
Synonyms
- For a person: chatterbox, loudmouth, babbler.
- For a hen: clucking hen.
- For the bird: chatterer (informal, descriptive).
Idioms and Phrases
- No direct idioms use "cackler," but it is directly related to:
- To cackle like a hen: To laugh or speak in a shrill, silly way.
- She cackled like a hen at his terrible joke.
Noun
- any of various insectivorous Old World birds with a loud incessant song; in some classifications considered members of the family Muscicapidae
- a hen that has just laid an egg and emits a shrill squawk