singsong

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See also: sing-song

English[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From sing +‎ song.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /ˈsɪŋsɒŋ/
  • (file)
  • Rhymes: -ɪŋsɒŋ

Adjective[edit]

singsong (comparative more singsong, superlative most singsong)

  1. Like a piece of singsong; simple and melodic, varying in pitch (of tone of voice etc.)

Noun[edit]

singsong (plural singsongs)

  1. A piece of verse with a simple, song-like rhythm.
  2. An informal gathering at which songs are sung; a singing session.
    We gathered round the campfire for a little singsong.
  3. Bad singing or poetry.
    • 1735 January 13 (Gregorian calendar; indicated as 1734), [Alexander] Pope, An Epistle from Mr. Pope, to Dr. Arbuthnot, London: [] J[ohn] Wright for Lawton Gilliver [], →OCLC, page 12, lines 218–221:
      I ne'r vvith VVits and VVitlings paſt my days, / To ſpread about the Itch of Verſe and Praiſe, / Nor like a Puppy daggled thro' the Tovvn, / To fetch and carry Sing-ſong up and dovvn; []
  4. A drawling or monotonous tone, as of a badly executed song.

Derived terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

Verb[edit]

singsong (third-person singular simple present singsongs, present participle singsonging, simple past and past participle singsonged) (intransitive)

  1. To utter in a singsong voice.
    • 1987 May, Texas Monthly, volume 15, number 5, page 184:
      The birdlike female vendors speak only if spoken to, except when softly singsonging in a dialect that sounds like Navajo.
  2. (obsolete) To write poor poetry.
    • 1875, Alfred Tennyson, Queen Mary: A Drama, London: Henry S. King & Co., →OCLC, Act II, scene i, pages 65–66:
      [Y]ou sit / Sing-songing here; but, if I'm any judge, / By God, you are as poor a poet, Wyatt, / As a good soldier.