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Croon
Definitions
- 1 A soft, low-pitched sound; specifically, a soft or sentimental hum, song, or tune.
"O, a’ ye Bards on bonie Doon! / An’ vvha on Ayr your chanters tune! / Come, join the melancholious croon / O’ Robin’s reed! / His heart vvill never get aboon! / His Mailie’s dead!"
- 2 A continuous hollow low-pitched moan, as of cattle; a bellow. Northern-England, Scotland
"Amang the brachens, on the brae, / Betvveen her an' the moon, / The Deil, or elſe an outler Quey, / Gat up an' gae a croon: […]"
- 3 The low-pitched sound of a large bell. Northern-England, Scotland
- 1 To hum or sing (a song or tune), or to speak (words), softly in a low pitch or in a sentimental manner; specifically, to sing (a popular song) in a low, mellow voice. transitive
"He was crooning a song."
- 2 sing softly wordnet
- 3 To soothe (a person or an animal) by singing softly. transitive
"[I]n his ill-remembered prayer, and in the fragment of the childish hymn with which he sung and crooned himself asleep, there breathed as true a spirit as ever studied homily expressed, or old cathedral arches echoed."
- 4 To hum or sing, or to speak, softly in a low pitch or in a sentimental manner; specifically, to sing a popular song in a low, mellow voice. intransitive
"She was crooning, but I couldn’t make out what the song was."
- 5 To lament, to moan. Northern-England, Scotland, intransitive
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- 6 To make a continuous hollow low-pitched moan, as of cattle; to bellow, to low. Northern-England, Scotland, intransitive
"Novv Clinkumbell, vvi' rattlin tovv, / Begins to jovv an' croon; […]"
- 7 Of a large bell: to make a low-pitched sound. Northern-England, Scotland, intransitive
Etymology
The verb is borrowed from Scots croon (“to utter a deep, long-drawn-out sound; to utter a lament, mourn; to sing in a wailing voice, whimper, whine; to mutter or sing in an undertone, hum”) [and other forms], from Middle English cronen (“to sing or speak softly, hum, croon”) (croyn (Scotland)) [and other forms], probably from Middle Dutch crônen, krônen (“to groan, moan; to lament”) (modern Dutch kreunen (“to moan”)), or Old High German chrônan, krônen (“to babble, prattle; to chatter”), probably from Proto-West Germanic *kraunijan, from Proto-Indo-European *gerH- (“to cry hoarsely”). The noun is partly: * borrowed from Scots croon (“a lament, wail; mournful song; low murmuring tune; (obsolete) long-drawn-out sound”), from croon (verb): see above; and * derived from the verb. Cognates * Middle Dutch krônen (modern Dutch kreunen (“to groan, moan; to lament”)) * Middle Low German kroenen (“to babble, prattle; to chatter”), kronen (“to growl; to grumble; to scold”) * Old High German chrônan, chrônnan (“to babble, prattle; to chatter”) * Saterland Frisian krȫnen (“to cause to weep”)
The verb is borrowed from Scots croon (“to utter a deep, long-drawn-out sound; to utter a lament, mourn; to sing in a wailing voice, whimper, whine; to mutter or sing in an undertone, hum”) [and other forms], from Middle English cronen (“to sing or speak softly, hum, croon”) (croyn (Scotland)) [and other forms], probably from Middle Dutch crônen, krônen (“to groan, moan; to lament”) (modern Dutch kreunen (“to moan”)), or Old High German chrônan, krônen (“to babble, prattle; to chatter”), probably from Proto-West Germanic *kraunijan, from Proto-Indo-European *gerH- (“to cry hoarsely”). The noun is partly: * borrowed from Scots croon (“a lament, wail; mournful song; low murmuring tune; (obsolete) long-drawn-out sound”), from croon (verb): see above; and * derived from the verb. Cognates * Middle Dutch krônen (modern Dutch kreunen (“to groan, moan; to lament”)) * Middle Low German kroenen (“to babble, prattle; to chatter”), kronen (“to growl; to grumble; to scold”) * Old High German chrônan, chrônnan (“to babble, prattle; to chatter”) * Saterland Frisian krȫnen (“to cause to weep”)
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