come-all-ye

[ kuhm-awl-yee ]

noun
  1. a street ballad, especially in England.

Origin of come-all-ye

1
First recorded in 1885–90; after the invitation that often forms the opening line of such ballads
  • Also come-all-you [kuhm-awl-yoo]. /ˈkʌmˌɔlˌyu/.

Words Nearby come-all-ye

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use come-all-ye in a sentence

  • He was a grand fiddler, a grand singer, and had made more "come-all-ye's" than you could count on your fingers and toes.

    The Harbor Master | Theodore Goodridge Roberts
  • Mary was sewing beside the stove, and Pat was mumbling over the first verse of a new "come-all-ye."

    The Harbor Master | Theodore Goodridge Roberts
  • There was a man in our mess—a Wicklow man be th' name iv Dwyer—that had th' best come-all-ye I iver heerd.

  • Great Scott, Jack, where did you pick up that old come-all-ye?

    The Boss of Wind River | David Goodger (goodger@python.org)
  • I was lookin' for him to bust out in grand-opry, or something else that's a heap more stylish than his old come-all-ye.

    The Long Shadow | B. M. Bower

British Dictionary definitions for come-all-ye

come-all-ye

/ (kəˈmɔːljə, -jiː) /


noun
  1. a street ballad or folk song

Origin of come-all-ye

1
C19: from the common opening words come all ye (young maidens, loyal heroes, etc)…

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012