aubade
[ oh-bad, oh-bahd; French oh-bad ]
/ oʊˈbæd, oʊˈbɑd; French oʊˈbad /
noun, plural au·bades [oh-badz, oh-bahdz; French oh-bad] /oʊˈbædz, oʊˈbɑdz; French oʊˈbad/. Music.
a piece sung or played outdoors at dawn, usually as a compliment to someone.
RELATED CONTENT
Origin of aubade
1670–80; < French, Middle French, equivalent to aube (< Provençal alba song about the parting of two lovers at dawn < Vulgar Latin, noun use of feminine of Latin albus white, clear) + -ade -ade1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for aubade
After all, that “Aubade Provenale” was just the melodious story of the woods in spring.
The Branding Iron|Katharine Newlin BurtHe remembered that Alain was supposed to sing an aubade, a dawn song, in the street below to warn and rouse him.
The Saracen: Land of the Infidel|Robert SheaSweet as any aubade of the olden time, under olive and ilex, is it not?
A Speckled Bird|Augusta J. Evans Wilson
British Dictionary definitions for aubade
aubade
/ (French obad) /
noun
a song or poem appropriate to or greeting the dawn
a romantic or idyllic prelude or overture
Compare serenade
Word Origin for aubade
C19: from French, from Old Provençal aubada (unattested), from auba dawn, ultimately from Latin albus white
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
Word Origin and History for aubade
aubade
"musical announcement of dawn," from French aubade (15c.), from Provençal aubada, from auba "dawn," from Latin alba, fem. of albus "white" (see alb).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper