croon

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English

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WOTD – 17 December 2023

Etymology

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A person crooning (sense 2.1).

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],[1] from Middle English cronen (“to sing or speak softly, hum, croon”) (croyn (Scotland)) [and other forms],[2] 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-Germanic *kraunijaną, from Proto-Indo-European *gerH- (“to cry hoarsely”).[3]

The noun is partly:

  • borrowed from Scots croon (“a lament, wail; mournful song; low murmuring tune; (obsolete) long-drawn-out sound”),[4] from croon (verb): see above; and
  • derived from the verb.[5]
cognates

Pronunciation

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Verb

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croon (third-person singular simple present croons, present participle crooning, simple past and past participle crooned)

  1. (transitive)
    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.
      Coordinate terms: see Thesaurus:sing
      He was crooning a song.
    2. To soothe (a person or an animal) by singing softly.
  2. (intransitive)
    2. 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.
      (to speak): Synonym: coo
      She was crooning, but I couldn’t make out what the song was.
      • 1856, Hugh M‘Donald, “No. XX.—Kirkintilloch and Campsie.”, in Rambles round Glasgow, Descriptive, Historical, and Traditional, 2nd edition, Glasgow: Thomas Murray and Son, →OCLC, page 390:
        But hark! the robin takes up the strain. […] Thou art a type of the true poet, even of him who "crooneth to himsel" amid poverty, and want, and toil. Other birds require the sunshine and the flower to wake their musical utterances, but the drifting flake and the arrowy hail stay not thy song.
      • 2006, Bayo Ojikutu, Free Burning […], New York, N.Y.: Three Rivers Press, →ISBN, page 306:
        "You, my sweet boy," she croons. "How much you still owe me?" […] "Be happy I ain't charging interest like how the man and all his bug-a-boos do," she croons on. "Just gimme a twenty. You got a dub or not?"
    3. (Northern England, Scotland) To lament, to moan.
    4. (Northern England, Scotland) To make a continuous hollow low-pitched moan, as of cattle; to bellow, to low.
      Coordinate term: bawl
    5. (Northern England, Scotland) Of a large bell: to make a low-pitched sound.

Conjugation

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Conjugation of croon
infinitive (to) croon
present tense past tense
1st-person singular croon crooned
2nd-person singular croon, croonest† crooned, croonedst†
3rd-person singular croons, crooneth† crooned
plural croon
subjunctive croon crooned
imperative croon —
participles crooning crooned

†Archaic or obsolete.

Derived terms

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Translations

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Noun

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croon (plural croons)

  1. A soft, low-pitched sound; specifically, a soft or sentimental hum, song, or tune.
  2. (Northern England, Scotland) A continuous hollow low-pitched moan, as of cattle; a bellow.
  3. (Northern England, Scotland) The low-pitched sound of a large bell.

Derived terms

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Translations

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References

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  1. ^ “croon, v.2”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC, reproduced from W[illiam] Grant and D[avid] D. Murison, editors, The Scottish National Dictionary, Edinburgh: Scottish National Dictionary Association, 1931–1976, →OCLC.
  2. ^ “crọ̄nen, v.(2)”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
  3. ^ Compare “croon, v.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, July 2023; “croon, v.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
  4. ^ “croon, n.2”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC, reproduced from W[illiam] Grant and D[avid] D. Murison, editors, The Scottish National Dictionary, Edinburgh: Scottish National Dictionary Association, 1931–1976, →OCLC.
  5. ^ “croon, n.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, July 2023; “croon, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Anagrams

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