lilt

English

Etymology

From Middle English lilten, lulten.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lɪlt/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪlt

Verb

lilt (third-person singular simple present lilts, present participle lilting, simple past and past participle lilted)

1. (intransitive) To do something rhythmically, with animation and quickness, usually of music.
   • a. 1851, William Wordsworth, “The Redbreast”, in Henry [Hope] Reed, editor, The Complete Poetical Works of William Wordsworth, Philadelphia, Pa.: Hayes & Zell, […], published 1860, →OCLC:

     Whether the bird flit here or there,
     O'er table lilt , or perch on chair

2. (intransitive) To sing cheerfully, especially in Gaelic.
3. (intransitive) To utter with spirit, animation, or gaiety; to sing with spirit and liveliness.
   • 1847, Alfred Tennyson, “(please specify the page number, or |part=Prologue, I to VII, or conclusion)”, in The Princess: A Medley, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC:

     A classic lecture, rich in sentiment, / With scraps of thunderous epic lilted out / By violet-hooded doctors.

Derived terms

• lilt up

Translations

to sing cheerfully

• German: trällern (de)
• Hebrew: לזמר
• Polish: śpiewać radośnie impf

Noun

lilt (plural lilts)

1. An animated, brisk motion; a spirited rhythm; sprightliness.
2. A lively song or dance; a cheerful tune.
   • 1850, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, London: H.G. Bohn, page 368:

     He was going away quite in despair, when a little old man, who was looking on with marks of displeasure in his face, came up to him, and telling him he was his friend, and his father's friend, bade him go into the ring and call for a lilt.

3. A cheerful or melodious accent or style in speaking.
   • 1978, Keith Vincent Smith, The Illustrated Earth Garden Herbal, Melbourne: Thomas Nelson Australia, page 23, column 2:

     The two works have the attractive lilt of Middle English, with all the remedies for bites of serpents and cures for eye troubles of the day.

   • July 18 2012, Scott Tobias, AV Club, The Dark Knight Rises (review)

     Though Bane’s sing-song voice gives his pronouncements a funny lilt, he doesn’t have any of the Joker’s deranged wit, and Nolan isn’t interested in undercutting his seriousness for the sake of a breezier entertainment.

Translations

melodious accent when speaking

• Czech: rytmičnost f, melodičnost f (řeči)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: tonefall (no) n

• Polish: melodia (pl) f, rytm (pl) m

See also

• brogue
• drawl
• lisp
• twang

References

“lilt”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• Till, till, 'till, lit'l, it'll