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definitions

croon

[kroon]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR croon ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object)

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.

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RELATED WORDS

artist, musician, voice, diva, soloist, vocalist, minstrel, songwriter, troubadour, songbird, songster, artiste, warbler, chorister, accompanist, chanter, nightingale, bard, poet, jongleur

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

Examples from the Web for crooner

Contemporary Examples of crooner

Historical Examples of crooner

  • Briefly the crooner's voice wavered, the notes of the violins hesitated, but no one noticed.

    The Star Lord

    Boyd Ellanby

  • A name given to the crooner, crowner, or gray gurnard (Trigla gurnardus).

    The Sailor's Word-Book

    William Henry Smyth

British Dictionary definitions for crooner

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 crooner
n.

type of popular singer, 1930, agent noun from croon.

croon

v.

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.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper