▪ I. sing, n.
(sɪŋ)
[f. sing v.1]
1. The sound made by a bullet or other projectile in its flight.
| 1871 Daily News 1 Mar., I distinctly heard the sing of the bullet overhead. 1897 C. Bigham With Turkish Army in Thessaly vi. 43 Here the first bullets began to pass over our heads; but from the sing we judged them to be spent. 1917 E. C. Middleton Way of Air 70 The familiar ‘sing’ of an approaching shell. 1930 Carmina Oct. 45 The sing Of a stone from the sling. |
2. a. An act of singing; the power of singing. Also, a hearty sing-song or round of collective singing (chiefly U.S.).
| 1850 N. Kingsley Diary 1 Sept. (1914) 140 We had a fine sing in the Evening which put me in mind of home. 1875 I. L. Bird Six Months in Sandwich Islands xii. 175 There have been pleasant little gatherings for sewing..and on Sunday evenings what is colloquially termed, ‘a sing’. 1884 Congregationalist Febr. 103 An English audience..enjoy a good, hearty, congregational ‘sing’. 1907 Cassell's Mag. Feb. 324/2 Why don't you sing..? You have heaps of ‘sing’ in you. 1932 A. Huxley Brave New World iv. 73 In the Ealing stadium a Delta gymnastic display and community sing was in progress. 1964 ‘J. H. Roberts’ ‘Q’ Document (1965) ix. 211 Skiers were gathered around in an alcoholic community sing. 1972 Village Voice (N.Y.) 1 June 96/4 Open sing, Verdi's Requiem. 1981 Libr. Congr. Inf. Bull. 16 Jan. (Staff News), Staff members and their families gather in the Great Hall for the annual carol sing. |
b. on the sing: (of a kettle) singing. Cf. sing v.1 6 a.
| 1927 W. Deeping Kitty xxx. 384 ‘All the kettles—.’..‘Two are boiling, miss; the other's on the sing.’ |
▪ II. sing, v.1
(sɪŋ)
Pa. tense sang, sung. pa. pple. sung. Forms: inf. 1 singan, 3–4 singen (3 sinken, 4 singyn), 3–4 singe (4 zinge), 4– sing; 1 syngan, 3–5 (6) syngen (4–5 syngyn, 5 cyngyn), 4–5 synge (4 seynge, zynge), 5–6 syng (6 synng). pa. tense sing. 1– sang (4 zang), 4–6 sange; 1, 4–7 song, 4–6 songe, soong, 6 soung, 6– sung (6 sunge); also 2nd pers. and subj. 3 sunge, songe. pa. tense pl. 1 sungon, -an, 1, 4–5 sungun, 2–4 sungen (3 sunggen), 4 songen, so(u)nguen, 3–4 sunge, songe. pa. pple. 1 ᵹesungen, 3 i-sunge(n; 1, 4–6 sungen (4 sungun), 4–6 sunge, 6 soung, sownge, soong(e, 6– sung; 3–4 i-songe, 4–6 songen (4 -yne, 6 -in, 5–6 -on), 5–6 songe, 5–7 song.
[Common Teut.: OE. singan, = OFris. sionga (WFris. sjonge, dial. soenge), MDu. singen (Du. zingen), OS. and OHG. singan (G. singen), ON. syngva (Icel. and Norw. syngja, Sw. sjunga, Da. synge), Goth. siggwan (= singwan). No related forms have been traced in other languages.
Sung was the usual form of the pa. tense in the 17th and 18th cents., and is given by Smart in 1836 with the remark ‘Sang..is less in use’. Recent usage, however, has mainly been in favour of sang.]
I. intr.
1. a. To articulate or utter words or sounds in succession with musical inflections or modulations of the voice, so as to produce an effect entirely different from that of ordinary speech; spec. to do this in a skilled manner, as the result of training and practice.
to sing dumb, sing small: see dumb a. 3 c, and small adv.
| c 825 Vesp. Ps. cxxxvii. 5 Alle cyningas..singen in songum dryhtnes. c 888 K. ælfred Boeth. i, He..ongan wepan & þus singend cwæð. c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. xi. 17 We sungun iuh & ne plæᵹdeᵹe. 971 Blickl. Hom. 149 Hwæt is..þis folc þe her þus hlude singeþ? c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 34 Ðu giue me seli timinge..Queðer so hic rede or singe! 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 2349 Ech mon..songe al day bi þe stret ase vor is onour. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 15085 To þe cite þey come singand. 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. xi. 190 Þus bed þe do-bet,..Sike with þe sory, singe with þe glade. c 1400 Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton, 1483) iv. xx. 65, I songe to rathe, for I sange by the morowe And now at eue I wepe. c 1420 Chron. Vilod. 3073 Angels, þat weron bothe bryȝt & shene,..song lowde with myelde steuene. 1517 R. Torkington Diary (1884) 63 On of the Jewys began to syng, and than all the women daunsed. 1614 J. Davies (Heref.) Eclogue 74 Enaunter they..songen lowdly for so deere desart. 1667 Milton P.L. ii. 553 The harmony (What could it less when Spirits immortal sing?) Suspended Hell. 1750 Gray Long Story 58 They flirt, they sing, they laugh, they tattle. 1769 Sir W. Jones Palace Fortune Poems (1777) 27 No shepherd sung beneath the rosy bowers. 1803–5 Wordsw. Solitary Reaper 27, I saw her singing at her work. 1852 Mrs. Stowe Uncle Tom's C. xvi. 157 I've been up in Tom's room, hearing him sing. 1884 F. M. Crawford Rom. Singer I. 10 He never sang except in Church. |
| fig. c 825 Vesp. Psalter xxix. 13 Ðæt singe ðe wuldur min. 1382 Wyclif Isaiah lv. 12 Mounteynes and hilles shul singe bifor ȝou preising. 1611 Bible Job xxxviii. 7 The morning starres sang together. 1757 Gray Bard 123 Bright Rapture calls, and soaring, as she sings, Waves [etc.]. 1775 Sheridan Duenna i. i, Tell me, my lute, can thy soft strain..So softly sing, so humbly sigh. 1871 Lowell Study Windows, Pope, I do not think that Pope's verse anywhere sings. |
b. Const. to († by, in) an instrument of music.
| c 825 Vesp. Psalter lxx. 22 Ic singu ðe in citran. c 1000 Ags. Ps. (Thorpe) lxx. 20 And [ic] þe on sealm-fatum, singe be hearpan. 1382 Wyclif 1 Chron. xvi. 5 Asaph forsothe schuld syngyn in cymbalis. 1565 Cooper Thesaurus, Canere ad tibiam, to singe to the shalme. 1608 Shakes. Per. iv. Prol. 26 When to the lute She sung. a 1700 Evelyn Diary 10 Oct. 1645, Who had a daughter..that played and sung to nine severall instruments. 1792 A. Young Trav. France 132 Mademoiselle Le Blanc singing to her systrum. |
c. fig. To cry out with pain; to make a noise, to boast, about something. to sing different (cf. 10 a).
| c 1386 Chaucer Friar's T. 13 But certes, lechours dide he grettest wo; They sholde singen, if that they were hent. 1897 Westm. Gaz. 22 Dec. 4/1 Matters are looking up. Still there is nothing much to sing about on our part even now. 1897 E. Phillpotts Lying Prophets i. ix, If you comed to be a bride, you'd sing different. |
d. to sing for one's supper (also † dinner): for lack of money. Usu. fig., to provide entertainment or a service in return for a benefit received (often, a meal).
| c 1744 Little Tommy Tucker in Tommy Thumb's Pretty Little Song Bk. 10 Little Tom Tucker Sings for his Supper What shall he Eat White bread and Butter. 1803 J. Kenney Raising the Wind i. i. 4 As you sometimes sing for your dinner, now you may whistle for your breakfast. 1949 N. Mitford Love in Cold Climate i. iii. 30 [At] the various house parties..I had been to..I knew that I was expected..to sing for my supper by being, if possible, amusing. 1972 T. P. McMahon Issue of Bishop's Blood (1973) ix. 134 Thanks for the dinner... Is it too bad a pun to say I'm ready to sing for it? |
e. to sing along: to sing in accompaniment to a song or piece of music. Also const. with the performer. Cf. sing-along n. and a.
| 1959 Time 17 Aug. 60/3 Whether anyone actually sings along with the sing-along albums probably does not bother..Miller. 1973 Observer (Colour Suppl.) 29 Apr. 41/3 They all stand on the tables and sing along and stamp their feet. 1977 R. L. Duncan Temple Dogs (1978) i. ii. 46 He was singing along with the piano player, his voice shrill. |
2. a. To tell of († by) in song or in verse.
| c 900 tr. Baeda's Hist. iv. xxiv. 346 Song he ærest be middanᵹeardes ᵹesceape & bi fruman moncynnes. c 1205 Lay. 24211 Sone heo gunnen singe of Arðure þan kinge. 13.. K. Alis. 7613 (Laud MS.), Þe lefdy wandreþ in a plas, And syngeþ of Dido & Eneas. 1390 Gower Conf. I. 290 Ha, who herde evere singe or rede Of such a thing as that was do? a 1529 Skelton Maner of World 169 Sometime we song of myrth and play. 1565 Cooper Thesaurus, Cantatus, songe of: praysed. 1605 Camden Rem. (1623) 8 Most truely our Lucan singeth of this our countrey. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 807 Thus have I sung of Fields, and Flocks, and Trees, And of the waxen Work of lab'ring Bees. 1788 Cowper Gratitude 56 The poets will swear that I dream, When I sing of the splendour of mine. 1821 Scott Kenilw. xxxvii, Marshalled by two Minstrels, who sung of war and ladies love. 1864 G. W. Dasent Jest & Earnest (1873) II. 233 So he began his song, and first he sung of the Orkney Earls across the western main. |
| fig. 1887 Illustr. Lond. News Summer No. 2/1 His gait and carriage Sang..of ploughed fields. |
b. To compose in verse; to make poetry.
| 1637 Milton Lycidas 10 Who would not sing for Lycidas? he knew Himself to sing, and build the lofty rhyme. 1709 Pope Ess. Crit. 659 He..judg'd with coolness, tho' he sung with fire. 1784 Cowper Task ii. 312 Studious of song, And yet ambitious not to sing in vain. 1827 Pollok Course T. x, Thus have I sung beyond thy first request. 1871 Smiles Charac. x. (1876) 267 Horace, Virgil, and Dante still sing as when they lived. |
† 3. To chant or intone, in the performance of divine service; to say mass. Obs.
| 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 3932 Clerkes songe as riȝt was, þat ioye it was to hure. 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. Prol. 83 Persones and parisch prestes..askeþ leue and lycence at londun to dwelle, To singe þer for Simonye. c 1400 Mandeville (1839) iii. 19 Thei suffre not the Latynes to syngen at here Awteres. 1432–50 tr. Higden (Rolls) V. 9 [The pope] ordeynede that brede ordeynede to synge with scholde be pure brede and clene. 1538 Lett. Suppress. Monast. (Camden) 222 He songe in thys chapell, and hadde the offeringes for hys lyving. 1599 Shakes. Hen. V, iv. i. 319, I haue built two Chauntries, Where the sad and solemne Priests sing still For Richards Soule. |
4. a. Of birds: To produce tuneful or musical sounds; to warble.
| a 1000 Phœnix 124 Se haswa fuᵹel..swinsað & singeð sweᵹle toᵹeanes. c 1250 Owl & Night. 1663 Foweles boþe grete & smale..sungen al so uale wise. 13.. Cursor M. 1031 (Gött.), Soun of foulis þat þar singes. 1390 Gower Conf. I. 53 He herde among the leves singe The Throstel with the nyhtingale. c 1440 Jacob's Well 149 Þei fare as þe cuc⁓cuke, þat syngyth but of him-self. 1515 Scottish Field 435 in Chetham Misc. (1856), Birdes brayden to the bowes, And boldlie they songen. 1588 Shakes. Tit. A. iii. i. 158 Did euer Rauen sing so like a Larke? 1611 ― Cymb. ii. iii. 22 Hearke, hearke, the Larke at Heauens gate sings. 1667 Milton P.L. v. 198 Ye Birds, That singing up to Heaven Gate ascend. 1766 Gray Kingsgate 10 No tree is heard to whisper, bird to sing. 1774 G. White Selborne lx, Wrens sing all the winter through, frost excepted. 1822 Coleridge Lett., etc. II. 116 Like a gleam of sunshine..setting all the birds a-singing. 1908 Betw. Trent & Ancholme 27 The birds singing in the old apple-trees. |
b. Of cocks: To crow. Also with out.
In early use after L. cantare in the Vulgate.
| c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. xxvi. 34 On ðisser næht ær ðon hona singe vel crawe. c 1000 ælfric Hom. II. 248 Se hana sona hlud-sweᵹe sang. 1382 Wyclif Mark xiv. 72 Bifore the cok synge twyes, thries thou schalt denye me. c 1386 Chaucer Reeve's T. 313 This joly lyf han thise two clerkes lad, Til that the thridde cok bigan to synge. 1602 Shakes. Ham. i. i. 160 The Bird of Dawning singeth all night long. 1830 Tennyson Mariana 27 The cock sung out an hour ere light. |
c. Said of the raven, sea-mew, toad, etc., and (in later use) of the cricket.
| a 1000 Cædmon's Genesis 1983 Sang se wanna fuᵹel under deoreðsceaftum. a 1000 Seafarer 22 Dyde ic me to gomene..mæw singende fore medodrince. 1340 Ayenb. 156 Þe asse..beginþ to lheape and yernþ to-yens him..and beginþ zinge grat-liche. 1555 Eden Decades (Arb.) 220 These toades synge after three or foure sortes. 1608 Shakes. Per. iii. Prol. 7 And crickets sing at the oven's mouth. a 1668 Davenant Man's the Master iii. ii, When crickets sing, why should not we? 1789 G. White Selborne lxxxviii, The new inhabitants [i.e. crickets] stayed some time, and fed and sung. 1846 Dickens Cricket on Hearth iii, A Cricket sings upon the Hearth. |
d. Criminals' slang (now chiefly U.S.). = sing out (sense 5 c). Also to sing like a canary. Orig. in proverbial phr. † he that sings once, weeps all his life after and varr.
| 1612 T. Shelton tr. Cervantes' Don-Quixote i. iii. viii. 193 Here it is quite contrary, quoth the slave, for He that sings once, weepes all his life after. 1710 S. Palmer Moral Essays on Proverbs lxxii. 197 He that Sings in Disaster, shall Weep all his Life-time After. 'Tis generally suppos'd, that this Proverb was born in a Jail. Sing..is, when one of the Gang Tattles, Confesses, and Accuses the Rest. |
| 1929 Hostetter & Beesley It's a Racket! 238 Sing, to confess. 1937 [implied at singing vbl. n. 1 c]. 1946 Sun (Baltimore) 10 Dec. 1/3 A former army colonel ‘sang’ about the operation of military government there. 1950 R. Himmel I'll find You (1958) xvii. 117 She's singing like a canary. She turned up at headquarters..and said she had some information on a killing. 1964 L. Nkosi Rhythm of Violence 65 Who knows, maybe he's even goin' to sing to the police! 1981 P. Niesewand Word of Gentleman xix. 126 You don't think they'd sing like canaries?.. They'll sing, Claud... If they thought it would help them, they'd tell on their mothers. |
5. a. With out. Also spec. in nautical use.
| 1530 Palsgr. 718/1, I synge out, or I synge a loude, je chante a playne voix. 1840 R. H. Dana Before Mast ii, The sailors ‘singing out’ at the ropes in their hoarse and peculiar strains. Ibid. xvii, Sailors, when heaving at a windlass.., always have one to sing out. |
b. To call or cry out.
| 1813 Sporting Mag. XLI. 43 Sing out, and we shall come. 1850 W. Scoresby Cheever's Whalem. Adv. iii. (1858) 34 Sing out when we head right! 1889 Jerome Three Men in Boat 93 They all got crazy at last, and sang out for the keeper. 1901 Mrs. C. Bagot Links with Past 44 A marine made it a point of honour to take a flogging in silence—a sailor thought it no disgrace to ‘sing out’. |
† c. Cant. To peach, turn informer. Obs.
| 1815 Scott Guy M. xxviii. note, To sing out or whistle in the cage, is when a rogue, being apprehended, peaches against his comrades. 1816 ― Old Mort. xliii, The thing will never keep two days longer, and the first bird that sings out will get the reward. |
6. a. Of things: To give out a ringing, murmuring, or other sound having the quality of a musical note.
| Beowulf 323 Hringiren scir song in searwum. c 897 K. ælfred Gregory's Past. C. xxiii. 174 Se hearpere..ᵹedeð ðæt hie [the strings] noht unᵹelice ðæm sone ne singað þe he wilnað. a 1023 Wulfstan Hom. xl. (1883) 183 In þæm dæᵹe singað þa byman. 1523 Fitzherb. Husb. §10 Go vppon the lande, that is plowed, and if it synge or crye, or make any noyse vnder thy fete, than it is to wete to sowe. 1596 Shakes. Merch. V. iv. i. 49 When the bag-pipe sings i' the nose. 1642 Fuller Holy & Prof. St. i. viii. 20 One said, He loved to heare his carter though not his cart to sing. 1797 Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) XVIII. 872/2 When the liquor in the barrel has done singing, stop the vessel close. 1839 Ure Dict. Arts 1271 They hear these stoppings begin to sing or call, as they say, whenever an interruption takes place in any point. 1850 S. Dobell Roman vi. Poet. Wks. (1875) 85, I do forget..that the music of her shores is singing Still in your ears. 1887 Besant The World went i, On the other hob stood a kettle, singing comfortably. |
b. Of missiles, etc.: To sound in this way by reason of rapid motion through the air; to move with a singing sound.
| 1565 Cooper Thesaurus Introd. 2 An arrowe that singeth as hee goeth. 1633 Bp. Hall Hard Texts, N.T. 213 The plagues of God shall be sent as so many arrowes singing into thy bosom. 1676 Hobbes Iliad (1677) 235 So many spears went singing by his head. 1716 Pope Odyss. viii. 138 The discus flies, And sings with unmatch'd force along the skies. 1761 Gray Fatal Sisters 22 Pikes must shiver, javelins sing. 1813 Byron Br. Abydos ii. xxv, Whose bullet through the night-air sang? 1883 Stevenson Treas. Isl. xviii, It did all our hearts good to see him..make the blade sing through the air. |
7. Of the ears: To ring, tingle, be filled with a humming sound.
| 1621 Burton Anat. Mel. i. iii. ii. ii, Their eares sing now and then. 1819 Scott Ivanhoe xl, I had forgotten the buffet, though mine ear sung after it for a whole day. 1849 E. B. Eastwick Dry Leaves 112 The eye grows dizzy, and the ear sings with heat. |
8. To admit of being sung; to be usually sung.
| 1728 Chambers Cycl. s.v. Melody, Yet so far as the Bass may be made airy, and to sing well, it may be also properly said to be Melodious. 1821 Mrs. Hemans Lett. in. H. F. Chorley Mem. (1837) I. 83, I am anxious that the words should both sing well and read well. 1873 E. O'Curry Lect. Anc. Irish III. 391 Those verses..which sing to the air of Ar Eire, etc. |
II. trans.
9. a. To utter (songs, etc.) with musical modulations of the voice; also (quot. 1553), to articulate (words) in a singing tone.
Said of birds, etc., as well as of persons. Sometimes used fig. (cf. sense 2) to denote the composition of verse.
| c 825 Vesp. Psalter cxxxvi. 4 Hu singað we song dryhtnes in eorðan fremðre? c 888 K. ælfred Boeth. ii, Ða lioð þe ic wrecca ᵹeo lustbærlice song, ic sceal nu heofiende singan. c 1000 Sax. Leechd. II. 352 Þas galdor mon mæᵹ singan on wunde. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 7 Ebreisce folc sungen heore leof song ure helende to wurðinge. a 1250 Prov. of Alfred 355 Ne ilef þu neuer..alle þe þinge þat þu iherest singe. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 3940 So murye & so gret was þat song þat me song þerinne wyde. 13.. K. Alis. 5195 (Laud MS.), Mery tyme it is in maij, Þe foules syngeþ her lay. 1340 Ayenb. 268 Hy zonge þane zang þet non oþer ne may zynge. a 1400–50 Alexander 3698 Þai made as mery melody & musik þai sanng As in þe moneth of Mai. 1470–85 Malory Arthur x. xxxi. 464 The harper had songe his songe to the ende. 1530 Palsgr. 718/1, I synge him..a balade. 1553 T. Wilson Rhet. 117 b, Some sighes out their woordes. Some synges their sentences. 1601 [Bp. W. Barlow] Serm. Paules Crosse Pref. 14 How the late Earle..song eyther the 54. or the 94. Psalme. 1660 N. Ingelo Bentiv. & Ur. i. (1682) 149 If they have not the words, which are sung, by heart, they have Copies of them given to them. 1710 Pope Windsor For. 434 To the list'ning swains First in these fields I sung the sylvan strains. 1798 Coleridge Fears in Solitude 18 The singing-lark (that sings unseen The minstrelsy that solitude loves best). 1827 D. Johnson Ind. Field Sports 202 A hundred dancing-girls sung their sprightly airs. 1846 Dickens Cricket on Hearth i, It's a dark night, sang the Kettle. 1848 Thackeray Van. Fair lxi, Suppose, on the other hand, your swan sings quite a different sort of dirge. |
b. With object denoting the key, voice, note, etc. Also fig. (quot. 1600).
| c 1386 Chaucer Miller's T. 146 Ther to he song som tyme a loud quynyble. 1423 Jas. I Kingis Q. liv, Quhare are thy notis smale, That thou of loue has song this morowe-tyde? ? a 1450 [see bass n.5 1]. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems xxii. 17 The pyet..Fenȝeis to sing the nychtingalis not. 1552 Huloet, Tenor, or he that singeth a tenor, succentor. 1600 Holland Livy xlv. xxxi. 1222 The third [statesman] betweene, sung a meane, and was crosse to the one and the other. 1611 Cotgr. s.v. Chanter, Who doth sing so merrie a note as he that cannot change a groat? a 1700 Evelyn Diary 25 July 1684, A Frenchman who sung an admirable basse. a 1791 Wesley Wks. (1872) VIII. 319 They must sing only the tenor. 1888 Encycl. Brit. XXIV. 275/1 So that an adult male can still sing the soprano parts. |
c. With advs., as forth, out, over.
| 1390 Gower Conf. I. 134 Thus I sang hem forth fulofte In halle. a 1400 Minor Poems fr. Vernon MS. xxix. ii. 42 Þe child..neuer-þe-latere song forþ his song. 1611 Bible Wisd. xviii. 9 The fathers now singing out the songs of praise. 1675 Brooks Gold. Key Wks. 1867 V. 303 How can he sing out the high praises of God? 1813 Scott Rokeby ii. xvi, While linnet, lark, and blackbird gay, Sing forth her nuptial roundelay. 1848 Thackeray Van. Fair xxvi, She sate down at the piano.., and sang over all her father's favourite old songs. |
10. In phrases: a. to sing another song or sing a different tune, to speak or act in a very different manner.
| 1390 Gower Conf. I. 260 O thou, which hast desesed The Court of France be thi wrong, Now schalt thou singe an other song. 1588 J. Udall Diotrephes (Arb.) 18 If they had euen my experience, they would sing another song. 1600 Heywood If you know not me Wks. 1874 I. 207 The Queene must heare you sing another song Before you part with vs. 1711 W. King tr. Naude's Ref. Politics iii. 91 The Jesuits begin to play their part, and sing another song. 1828 Scott F.M. Perth xxxiii, If it was not within two days of Palm Sunday, herself would make you sing another song. 1890 Henty With Lee in Virginia 124, I imagine he would sing a different tune if the blue coats ever get to Richmond. |
b. to sing the same (or one) song, to tell the same tale, to harp on the same strain.
| 1550 Bale Eng. Votaries ii. O j, In all their counsels they songe styll one song. 1583 Stubbes Anat. Abus. ii. 39, I haue hard prisoners (and not any almost but they sing the same song)..crie out against brookers. 1646 Bp. Maxwell Burd. Issach. 14 This is so much obeyed, that the Ministers of the Kings Family, or Parish, must sing the same song. 1863 tr. Ruffini's Vincenzo II. xi. 183 After you have been here twelve months..you will sing the same song as I do now. 1898 E. W. Hamilton Mawkin viii, He was singing the same song himself just, no later than yestreen. |
c. to sing sol-fa, sing sorrow, sing woe, to lament.
| 1566 Gascoigne Supposes iv. ii, If I come neere you, hemp⁓string, I will teache you to sing sol fa. 1748 Jarvis Quix. i. iii. iv, It would be of service and use only to those who are dubbed knights..; as for the poor squires, they may sing sorrow. 1818 Scott Rob Roy xxxii, I will take such ample vengeance, that the very stones of their glens shall sing woe for it this hundred years to come! |
d. to hear a bird sing, etc., denoting the receipt of private information. (Cf. bird n. 4.)
| 1597 Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, v. v. 113, I heare a Bird so sing, Whose Musicke (to my thinking) pleas'd the King. 1618 Fletcher Loyal Subj. iv. ii, I heard a Bird sing, they mean him no good office. 1672 Villiers (Dk. Buckhm.) Rehearsal ii. ii. (Arb.) 53, I..heard besides a grave Bird sing That they intend, sweet-heart, to play us pranks. 1845 Disraeli Sybil 285, I have had a bird too singing something in my ear these two days past. |
11. a. To chant or intone (a lesson, mass, etc.).
Sometimes used in much the same sense as say v.1 9.
| a 850 Lorica Prayer 9 in O.E. Texts 174 Sing ðonne pater noster. c 960 Rule St. Benet (Schröer) xi. 35 Singe man ærest sex sealmas & þonne on ende fers. c 1030 Ibid. (Logeman) 39 Si an [ræding] of ðære ealdan ᵹecyðnysse..ᵹeræd oððe sungen. c 1122 O.E. Chron. (Laud MS.) an. 1122, Þa hwile þe þa munecas sungen þære messe. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 51 Þe halie ureisuns þe me singeð in halie chirche. a 1225 Ancr. R. 424 Bi þe weie ase heo geð go singinde hire beoden. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 9348 Þe bissop of lincolne is masse song þo. 1310 St. Brendan (Bälz) 315 Þe wile we singeþ evesong, hi scholleþ sitte and ete. 1338 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 172 Better him wer..messe [to have] songen, & serued God alle myght. 1431 Rec. St. Mary at Hill (1905) 14 An honest Preest sufficiantly lerned in dyvynete to syng & sey dyuyne seruice. 1483 in Lett. Rich. III & Hen. VII (Rolls) I. 9 The masse of requiem..was songon by the archbishop of Yorke. 1503 Ibid. 201 The Pater Noster was songen. 1593 Nashe Christ's T. (1613) 172 Because we may not build Monasteries, or haue Masses, Dirges, or Trentals sung for our soules [etc.]. 1699 J. Jackson Let. to Pepys 25 Dec., The Cardinals, &c., entering afterwards to sing vespers. 1700 T. Brown tr. Fresny's Amusem. iii. Wks. 1709 III. i. 22 Those Ladies that look thro' their Fingers while the Service is Singing. 1753 Challoner Cath. Chr. Instr. 93 In the high or solemn Mass the Gospel is sung by the Deacon. 1808 Scott Marm. vi. Introd. 31 On Christmas eve the mass was sung. |
| fig. 1827 Pollok Course T. vii, Whom fierce Winter seized,..And sang the requiem of his shivering ghost. |
† b. With out: To exhaust the value of (a sum of money) in the celebration of masses. Obs.
| c 1530 Plumpton Corr. (Camden) 228 When your prest at Boynton had song out all your ten pound, he kepes him still at his cost. |
12. a. To declare, relate, recount, or celebrate, in song or verse.
| c 825 Vesp. Psalter xx. 14 Hefe up, dryhten, in meᵹne ðinum; we singað..meᵹen ðin. c 888 K. ælfred Boeth. vii. §3 Hwæt singað þa leoðwyrhtan oðres be ðisse woruld buton mislica hwearfunga? 971 Blickl. Hom. 231 He þa..wæs Drihtnes lof singende on þæm carcerne. c 1205 Lay. 22976 Ne [is] al so[t]h ne al les, þat leod-scopes singeð. a 1325 Prose Psalter xx. 13 We shul syngen & psalmen þy vertuz. 1390 Gower Conf. I. 203 Thurgh tresoun of hire false tunge, Which thurgh the lond was after sunge. c 1400 Beryn 786 Philippus Augustinus, as songen is in layis,..Was Emperour I-chose. 1531 Elyot Gov. i. vii, After he..had songen the gestes and actes marcial of the ancient princis of Greece. 1557 Tottel's Misc. (Arb.) 150, I haue not songen, how This mischiefe came: but I intend With wofull voice to sing it now. 1636 Heywood Challenge Beauty ii. i, I shall be Ballated, Sung up and downe by Minstrills. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 3 Mecænas, read this other part, that sings Embattel'd Squadrons and advent'rous Kings. 1738 Gray Propertius iii. 15 Sing with what a careless Grace she flings Her artful hand. 1762 Sir W. Jones Arcadia Poems (1777) 122 He sung the woes of artless swains. 1820 Byron Juan iii. lxxix, He sung the Sultan and the Pacha. 1850 A. Jameson Leg. Monast. Ord. (1863) 61 He sang the creation of the world, and the origin of man. |
| transf. 1749 Fielding Tom Jones xii. xii, Jones afterwards proceeded very gravely to sing forth the happiness of those subjects who live under such a magistrate. |
b. to sing one's praises, to be loud in laudation of (a person, etc.).
| 1565 Cooper Thesaurus s.v. Cantus, To synge ones greate prayse. 1610 B. Jonson Alch. ii. i, I'll Be bound the players shall sing your praises, then, Without their poets. 1778 F. Burney Diary 26 Aug., Dr. Johnson..was so caught by it..that he has sung its praises ever since. 1858 Thackeray Virgin. xxxi, May we modest Œnophilists not sing the praises of our favourite plant? |
c. To proclaim in a musical or resonant manner; to announce clearly or distinctly. Also fig.
| 1605 First Part of Ieronimo i. i, My knee sings thanks vnto your highnes bountie. c 1616 Fletcher Thierry & Theod. i. ii, I hear a tempest coming, That sings mine and my kingdom's ruin. a 1668 Davenant Man's the Master iii. ii, They sung us thanks ere we made them a fire. 1837 A. Tennent Vis. Glencoe 5 Hark how the pibroch shrilly sings The deeds of other years. 1848 Thackeray Van. Fair xviii, Before whose door the watchman sang the hours when she was asleep. 1897 Pall Mall Mag. Nov. 356 Put my eyes out, and I'll sing you the soundings foot by foot. |
d. To call out. Also transf.
| 1833 M. Scott Tom Cringle i, ‘Port your helm,’ sung out the boatswain. 1837 Disraeli Venetia i. xvii, Suddenly a scout sang out that a party was in sight. 1848 Thackeray Van. Fair lvii, Moon and stars shining overhead, and the bell singing out the watch. 1850 ― Pendennis iv, Clavering clock sang out one. 1901 Daily Express 28 Feb. 6/5 As the baskets go down they sing out the number where the money is to be placed. |
13. a. To bring into a certain state, or to a certain place, by or with singing. Const. with preps. and advs. Also, † to lull by singing.
| a 1500–34 Coventry Corpus Christi Plays (1902) 29 Here the wemen cum in wythe there chyldur, syngyng them. 1530 Palsgr. 718/1, I have songe thy brother aslepe. 1595 Shakes. John v. vii. 23 This pale faint Swan, Who..sings His soule and body to their lasting rest. 1600 ― A.Y.L. iv. ii. 13 Then sing him home, the rest shall beare this burthen. 1730–46 Thomson Autumn 190 Like the gay birds that sung them to repose. 1778 F. Burney Evelina xxi, If ever they do again, I'll give them leave to sing me to Bedlam for my pains. 1821 Clare Vill. Minstr. II. 3 The blackbird sang the sun to bed. 1868 Morris Earthly Par. (1870) I. i. 306 The garden birds sang down the setting sun. 1877 Mrs. Oliphant Makers Flor. i. 21 All Florence danced and sung the sweet May in. |
b. To take, drive, force, etc., by or with singing. Const. away, forth, off, out of, etc.
| 1604 Shakes. Oth. iv. i. 200 Oh she will sing the Sauagenesse out of a Beare. 1650 A. B. Mutat. Polemo 15 To be chirpingly drunk, and sing away sorrow. 1788 Cowper Mischievous Bull 23 The angry Muse thus sings thee forth, And claps the gate behind thee. 1810 Crabbe Borough xxiii. 154, I put on the man, Sing off my sighs, and trifle as I can. 1830 Praed Palinodia vii, When Laura sings young hearts away. 1875 M{supc}Laren Serm. Ser. ii. vi. 102 A truth which syren voices are constantly trying to sing us out of believing. |
c. To spend or pass away (life) in singing.
| 1816 Shelley Dæmon of World ii. 163 The winged habitants, That in the woods their sweet lives sing away. |
d. To make (one's way) with singing.
| 1890 Hall Caine Bondman ii. iii, There is a full stream that tumbles into the sea..after singing its way down from the heights of Barrule. |
e. Of the Aboriginal inhabitants of Australia: to endow (an object) with magical properties by singing; to bring a magical influence to bear on (a person or thing) by singing.
| 1899 Spencer & Gillen Native Tribes Central Austral. xvi. 537 The wound was not serious..but he persisted in saying that the spear had been sung, and that..he was going to die, which accordingly he did. 1914 B. Spencer Native Tribes N. Territory iii. 140 As soon as the ground was cleared..all the men retired to one side and, to the accompaniment of trumpets..and clapping of hands, it was ‘sung’. This ‘singing’ was supposed to make the ground..in good order so that the performers could dance well. 1959 A. Upfield Bony & Black Virgin xvii. 158 The aborigines..dug up their rainstones and rubbed them with their magic stones, and ‘sang’ them in a secret camp. And then it rained. 1975 Times 8 Nov. 5/1 The Premier of Queensland was put under a death spell by Aborigines last night... An Aboriginal..said ‘These people have sung him and he should start dying from now on.’ |
III. 14. In combs., as † sing-alone nonce-wd., a solo singer; sing-in [in3], a musical performance in which the audience participates in the singing; † sing-man nonce-wd., a singing man.
| 1691 tr. Emillianne's Frauds Rom. Monks 208 Besides these there were in a little Box near the Altar, four Musicians, called Sing-alones. Ibid. 221 The Abbot sung the first Verse of Even-song, which was continued by the Music and Sing-men. 1968 Lebende Sprachen XIII. 67/1 Neologismen mit in im Englischen und Deutschen{ddd}sing-in, sit-in, [etc.]. 1970 New Yorker 19 Dec. 16 Sing-in at Philharmonic Hall—Handel's ‘Messiah’ directed (seriatim fortunately) by nineteen directors. 1976 Flintshire Leader 10 Dec. 13/2 (heading) Penyffordd ‘sing-in’. |
▸ to sing the same song (also tune) and variants: (of a number of people) to express the same view, to say the same thing; (also, esp. in to sing from the same hymn (also song) sheet) to present a united front, esp. by being seen publicly to agree. Freq. in political contexts.
| 1846R. Browning Luria iv, in Bells & Pomegranates No. 8. 15/2 Priests, greybeards, Braccios, women, boys and spies, All in one tale, each singing the same song, How thou must house, and live at bed and board. 1944 J. H. Crider Bureaucrat i. vii. 112 Influential members of Congress, singing the same tune, are maneuvering for the development of a system for public discussion openly to formulate policies which will be acceptable to all. 1976 Economist (Nexis) 15 May 93 There is still time to lose the music, but it looks as though Britain's three largest unions should all be singing the same tune on June 16th. 1981 Newsweek (Nexis) 27 Apr. 41 ‘We didn't exactly woodshed them,’ a Reagan man said, ‘but we did let them know it's time to sing from the same sheet of music.’ 1994 Independent 1 Sept. 2/6 The prospect then is that Unionist representatives will find themselves ranged against a true pan-nationalist front—a formidable alliance which would see Mr Hume, Mr Adams, the Irish government and Irish-Americans all singing from the same or similar hymn-sheets. 2000 South China Morning Post (Hong Kong) 5 May 32/3 We're all singing from the same hymn sheet and there is a real will to clean up the game, though it may take a life ban to restore cricket's credibility. |
▪ III. sing, v.2 Sc. (and north.).
(sɪŋ)
Also 6 signe. pa. tense singed, singet, -it; also sang, sung.
[Northern form of singe v., perh. based on the early pa. tense and pple. sengde, sengd. Frequently conjugated after sing v.1]
trans. To singe.
| 1543–5 Aberdeen Register XVIII. (Jam.), Sche causand sing the said houiss with ane turf of hedder. 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. I. 95 Thay thresche na stuf, bot with fyre thay signe it into the pile vpon the ground. Ibid., Quhen thay haue signet it, thay winnow it. 1633 Orkney Witch Trial in Dalyell Darker Superst. of Scot. (1834) 193 Fyre ane piece of linying cleath, and sing ane hair of the beast. a 1689 W. Cleland Poems (1697) 19 Rebellious Books, Whose paper well might serve the Cooks, To sing their Poultrie. 1725 Ramsay Gentl. Sheph. ii. i, Fat are the puddings,—heads and feet well sung. 1828 Buchan Ballads (1875) I. 122 [It] sang the points o' her yellow hair. 1884 Grant Lays & Leg. North 29 He steed until the flames hed sung The whiskers on his cheek. |
▪ IV. sing
obs. Sc. form of sign n.
▪ V. sing
var. sheng.