croon

[kroon]

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verb (used without object)

to sing or hum in a soft, soothing voice: to croon to a baby.

to sing in an evenly modulated, slightly exaggerated manner: Popular singers began crooning in the 1930s.

to utter a low murmuring sound.

Scot. and North England.

to bellow; low.
to lament; mourn.

verb (used with object)

to sing (a song) in a crooning manner.

to lull by singing or humming to in a soft, soothing voice: to croon a child to sleep.

noun

the act or sound of crooning.

Origin of croon

1350–1400; Middle English cronen < Middle Dutch: to lament

Related formscroon·er, nouncroon·ing·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for crooned

hum, murmur, wail, roar, bellow, lull

Examples from the Web for crooned

Contemporary Examples of crooned

“All over the world there are children with hopes still burning, in the dreams of tomorrow,” she crooned.
Hillary Woos the Jews
David Freedlander
March 20, 2014
Vivien crooned about his attentions to her in August 1915: “He is all over me, is Bertie, and I simply love him.”
The Best of Brit Lit
Peter Stothard
May 17, 2010

Historical Examples of crooned

Gathering Polly tenderly in his arms, he crooned over her like a mother.
Polly of Lady Gay Cottage
Emma C. Dowd
"The light one, the light one—the heavy one to come," crooned the Welshwoman.
The Upper Berth
Francis Marion Crawford
Christianna, who had moaned as she crooned, hardly knowing it, at once fell silent.
The Long Roll
Mary Johnston
Many a time had she crooned it in the old days as I rowed her in the boat.
Kilgorman
Talbot Baines Reed
Old Worble crooned and doddered, and feebly repeated "Picnic?"
The Strand Magazine, Volume V, Issue 28, April 1893
Various

British Dictionary definitions for crooned

croon

verb

to sing or speak in a soft low tone

noun

a soft low singing or humming

Derived Formscrooner, noun

Word Origin for croon

C14: via Middle Dutch crōnen to groan; compare Old High German chrōnan to chatter, Latin gingrīre to cackle (of geese)

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 crooned

croon

c.1400, originally Scottish, from Middle Dutch kronen "to lament, mourn," perhaps imitative. Originally "to bellow like a bull" as well as "to utter a low, murmuring sound" (mid-15c.). Popularized by Robert Burns. Sense evolved to "lament," then to "sing softly and sadly." Related: Crooned; crooning.