sing

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See also: Sing, siŋ, sing., and Sing.

English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Middle English singen, from Old English singan, from Proto-West Germanic *singwan, from Proto-Germanic *singwaną, from Proto-Indo-European *sengʷʰ-. Cognate with German singen (“to sing”).

Recorded singing from a person.
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Pronunciation[edit]

  • enPR: sĭng, IPA(key): /sɪŋ/
  • Audio (UK)
    		(file)
  • Audio (US)
    		(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɪŋ

Verb[edit]

sing (third-person singular simple present sings, present participle singing, simple past sang, past participle sung or (archaic) sungen)

  1. (intransitive) To produce musical or harmonious sounds with one’s voice.
    "I really want to sing in the school choir," said Vera.
  2. (transitive) To express audibly by means of a harmonious vocalization.
    sing a lullaby
    • 1852, Mrs M.A. Thompson, “The Tutor's Daughter”, in Graham's American Monthly Magazine of Literature, Art, and Fashion‎[1], page 266:
      In the lightness of my heart I sang catches of songs as my horse gayly bore me along the well-remembered road.
  3. (transitive) To soothe with singing.
    to sing somebody to sleep
  4. (transitive, intransitive) Of birds, to vocalise:
    1. (ornithology) To produce a 'song', for the purposes of defending a breeding territory or to attract a mate.
    2. (literary) To produce any type of melodious vocalisation.
      • 1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, H.L. Brækstad, transl., Folk and Fairy Tales, page 68:
        The evening was still very warm, and the birds in the woods were singing in praise of spring.
  5. (intransitive, slang) To confess under interrogation.
  6. (intransitive) To make a small, shrill sound.
    The air sings in passing through a crevice.
    a singing kettle
  7. To relate in verse; to celebrate in poetry.
    • 1709, Matthew Prior, Pleasure
      Bid her […] sing / Of human hope by cross event destroyed.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Milton to this entry?)
  8. (intransitive) To display fine qualities; to stand out as excellent.
    The sauce really makes this lamb sing.
  9. (ergative) To be capable of being sung; to produce a certain effect by being sung.
    • 1875, Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine (volume 118, page 685)
      No song sings well unless it is open-vowelled, and has the rhythmic stress on the vowels. Tennyson's songs, for instance, are not generally adapted to music.

Synonyms[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

Related terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

Noun[edit]

sing (plural sings)

  1. The act, or event, of singing songs.
    I sometimes have a quick sing in the shower.
    • 2002, Martha Mizell Puckett, Hoyle B. Puckett, Memories of a Georgia Teacher: Fifty Years in the Classroom, page 198:
      Some of the young folks asked Mrs. Long could they have a sing at her home that Sunday afternoon; she readily agreed, telling them to come early, bring their songbooks, and have a good sing.
    • 2016, Kerry Greenwood, Murder and Mendelssohn, Sydney: Allen and Unwin, page 287:
      'Ah, yes, Miss Fisher, have you had a nice sing?'

Derived terms[edit]

See also[edit]

Anagrams[edit]

Afrikaans[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Dutch zingen.

Pronunciation[edit]

Verb[edit]

sing (present sing, present participle singende, past participle gesing)

  1. to sing

Derived terms[edit]

German[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Verb[edit]

sing

  1. singular imperative of singen

Hungarian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from German. First attested in 1368.[1]

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

sing (plural singek)

  1. (archaic) cubit (a unit of linear measure, no longer in use, originally equal to the length of the forearm)

Declension[edit]

Inflection (stem in -e-, front unrounded harmony)
singular plural
nominative sing singek
accusative singet singeket
dative singnek singeknek
instrumental singgel singekkel
causal-final singért singekért
translative singgé singekké
terminative singig singekig
essive-formal singként singekként
essive-modal — —
inessive singben singekben
superessive singen singeken
adessive singnél singeknél
illative singbe singekbe
sublative singre singekre
allative singhez singekhez
elative singből singekből
delative singről singekről
ablative singtől singektől
non-attributive
possessive - singular 		singé singeké
non-attributive
possessive - plural 		singéi singekéi
Possessive forms of sing
possessor single possession multiple possessions
1st person sing. singem singjeim
2nd person sing. singed singjeid
3rd person sing. singje singjei
1st person plural singünk singjeink
2nd person plural singetek singjeitek
3rd person plural singjük singjeik

Derived terms[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Zaicz, Gábor. Etimológiai szótár: Magyar szavak és toldalékok eredete (’Dictionary of Etymology: The origin of Hungarian words and affixes’). Budapest: Tinta Könyvkiadó, 2006, →ISBN

Further reading[edit]

  • sing in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh: A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (’The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962.

Iu Mien[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Chinese 聲 (MC ɕiᴇŋ).

Noun[edit]

sing 

  1. sound

Zou[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

Sing (1).

From Proto-Kuki-Chin *thiiŋ, from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *kjaŋ. Cognates include Burmese ချင်း (hkyang:) and Chinese 薑 (jiāng).

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

síng

  1. ginger

Etymology 2[edit]

Sing (2).

From Proto-Kuki-Chin *thiŋ, from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *siŋ. Cognates include Burmese သစ် (sac) and Chinese 薪 (xīn).

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

síng

  1. tree

References[edit]

  • Lukram Himmat Singh (2013) A Descriptive Grammar of Zou, Canchipur: Manipur University, page 45
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