singsong

See also: sing-song

English

Alternative forms

sing-song

Etymology

From sing +‎ song.

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈsɪŋsɒŋ/
(General American) IPA^(key): /ˈsɪŋsɔŋ/
- (cot–caught merger) IPA^(key): /ˈsɪŋsɑŋ/
Audio (US): (file)
Rhymes: -ɪŋsɒŋ

Noun

singsong (plural singsongs)

A piece of verse with a simple, song-like rhythm.
An informal gathering at which songs are sung; a singing session.
We gathered round the campfire for a little singsong.
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; […]
A drawling or monotonous tone, as of a badly executed song.

Derived terms

singsongy

Translations

a piece of verse with a simple, song-like rhythm

Italian: cantilena (it) f
Norwegian: allsang m

an informal gathering at which songs are sung; a singing session

Italian: cantata (it) f
Norwegian: allsang m

Adjective

singsong (comparative more singsong, superlative most singsong)

Of or relating to a piece of singsong; simple and melodic, varying in pitch.

Verb

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

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.
(obsolete) To compose 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.