Link Centre Dictionary

sing

UK/ˈsɪŋ/ US/ˈsɪŋ/ very common literary slang

verb

1.

deliver by singing

  • “Sing Christmas carols”
2.

produce tones with the voice

  • “She was singing while she was cooking”
  • “My brother sings very well”
3.

to make melodious sounds

  • “The nightingale was singing”
4.

make a whining, ringing, or whistling sound

  • “the kettle was singing”
  • “the bullet sang past his ear”
Synonyms
5.

Origin

From Middle English singen, from Old English singan (“to sing”), from Proto-West Germanic *singwan, from Proto-Germanic *singwaną (“to sing”), from Proto-Indo-European *sengʷʰ- (“to recite, sing”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian sjunge (“to sing”), West Frisian sjonge (“to sing”), Dutch zingen (“to sing”), German Low German singen (“to sing”), German singen (“to sing”), Danish and Norwegian Bokmål synge (“to sing”), Swedish sjunga (“to sing”), Norwegian Nynorsk, Faroese, and Icelandic syngja (“to sing”), Ancient Greek ὀμφή (omphḗ, “voice, oracle”).

Phrases

  • all-singing all-dancing
  • go sing
  • New Guinea singing dog
  • overtone singing
  • part singing
  • scat singing
  • sight sing
  • sing a different tune

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.