ditty
[dit-ee]
- a poem intended to be sung.
- a short, simple song.
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- Obsolete. to sing.
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- Obsolete. to set to or celebrate in music.
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Origin of ditty
1250–1300; Middle English dite < Anglo-French, Old French dit(i)e poem, noun use of past participle of ditier to compose < Latin dictāre; see dictate
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for ditty
Contemporary Examples
A high school vibe overtook the hall: it was a pep rally, complete with its own music video—“Kahana was right,” laments the ditty.
“Miss Atomic Bomb,” a five-minute ditty that swells into a soaring rock anthem, is an early standout.
The Killers Talk New Album ‘Battle Born,’ Mitt Romney, Mormonism & MoreMarlow Stern
September 15, 2012
Historical Examples
This to his own horse and off he would go, humming some ditty to the lazy hobble of his nag.
Lords of the NorthA. C. Laut
That is not in the tone of the ditty sung by the Tripe Skewer.
The Valet's Tragedy and Other StoriesAndrew Lang
What business had Jack Turner to be singing that ditty under his window?
The Girls of St. Olave'sMabel Mackintosh
And thereupon he began a ditty he had composed during the war.
The Rover Boys at Big Horn RanchEdward Stratemeyer
You and a million others recite that ditty, or variations of it every day of the week.
UnspecialistMurray F. Yaco
ditty
- a short simple song or poem
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Word Origin
C13: from Old French ditie poem, from ditier to compose, from Latin dictāre dictate
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for ditty
n.
"short song," c.1300, from Old French ditie "composition, poem, treatise," from Latin dictatum "thing dictated," neuter past participle of dictare "dictate" (see dictate (v.)).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper