berceuse

[ber-sœz]

noun

Music.

plural

berceuses 

1. a cradlesong; lullaby.

2. a composition for instrument or voice, having a soothing, reflective character.

berceuse

/ bɛrsøz /

noun

1. a cradlesong or lullaby

2. an instrumental piece suggestive of this, in six-eight time

Word History and Origins

Origin of berceuse¹

1875–80; < French, equivalent to berc ( er ) to rock + -euse -euse

Word History and Origins

Origin of berceuse¹

C19: from French: lullaby, from bercer to rock

Example Sentences

"Impossible!" her vanity made reply, and the berceuse which she was playing assumed the character of a triumphal march.

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As she passed each corpse she knelt beside it and sang the foolish little berceuse that Poitou mothers sing to their babies.

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Doubtless she knew it too, as she sat there sewing on the frail garment which lay across her knee and singing blithely under her breath some air with cadence like a berceuse.

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I found him seated in a berceuse on the veranda.

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The plaintive melody of the berceuse rang in her ears on duty and off, till at last she could stand it no longer.

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