lilt

[ lilt ]

noun

1. rhythmic swing or cadence.
2. a lilting song or tune.

verb (used with or without object)

1. to sing or play in a light, tripping, or rhythmic manner.

lilt

/ lɪlt /

noun

1. (in music) a jaunty rhythm
2. a buoyant motion

verb

1. (of a melody) to have a lilt
2. to move in a buoyant manner

Derived Forms

• ˈlilting, adjective

Other Words From

• lilting·ly adverb
• lilting·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of lilt¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English verb lilte, lulte “to sound an alarm; lift up (one's voice)”; perhaps akin to Dutch, Low German lul “pipe,” lullen “to lull,” Norwegian lilla “to sing,” of imitative origin

Word History and Origins

Origin of lilt¹

C14 lulten, origin obscure

Example Sentences

The ballad begins with the soft twinkle of piano keys and Adele’s voice at a quiet lilt—a spare arrangement that, over the course of six minutes, crescendos to a chills-inducing, booming triumph, emblematic of the transformation she makes herself.

From The Daily Beast

While Metal Gear needs no introduction, it’s been 18 years since Raziel snarled his vows of revenge with a Shakespearean lilt.

From Washington Post

He seems laid back, at first, with his professorial short beard, square glasses, and slight surfer lilt.

From MIT Technology Review

This Caribbeanized stew, unapologetic for its island lilt, uses fewer ingredients and comes together quickly, while still embodying a striking sense of place.

From Washington Post

“I would expect that,” he says in a soft tenor voice, with the hint of a Southern lilt.

From The Daily Beast

Surely viewers forgive Jean Dujardin making acceptance speeches in his now-famous foreign lilt.

From The Daily Beast

He spoke in soft, considered tones, with an almost prayerful lilt.

From The Daily Beast

As Morris shares his side of the story, his voice whispers across the phone line, a gentle Southern lilt kissing every syllable.

From The Daily Beast

His voice carries some of the Bavarian lilt of Werner Herzog, and he looks slightly like Daniel Day-Lewis when he laughs.

From The Daily Beast

It was a native melody, but it had the strange, monotonous lilt of Tony's old-Egyptian melody.

From Project Gutenberg

At the lilt in her voice Mollie, at her end of the wire, sat up and stared inquiringly into the black mouth of the telephone.

From Project Gutenberg

"Better than that," answered Betty with the same lilt to her voice that the girls had heard over the telephone.

From Project Gutenberg

Notice, however, that the beat is quite regular, and the lines lilt along as if there were no change.

From Project Gutenberg

These were the nights when "curtains" hung festooned in the heavens, alive, rippling, dancing to the lilt of lightning music.

From Project Gutenberg