serenade
/ˌsɛɹəˈneɪd/ noun, verb
Forms serenades serenading serenaded
- noun A love song that is sung directly to one's love interest, especially one performed below the window of a loved one in the evening.
- noun (music) An instrumental composition in several movements. ““Eine kleine Nachtmusik” is a well-known serenade written by Mozart.”
- verb (transitive) To sing or play a serenade for (someone).
- verb (by extension) To woo someone.
Synonyms
Etymology
Borrowed from French sérénade, from Italian serenata, from the past participle of serenare, from Latin serenare, from serenus (“calm”), of uncertain origin (see there).
Webster’s 1913
Etymology [F. sérénade, It. serenata, probably fr. L. serenus serene (cf. Serene), misunderstood as a derivative fr. L. serus late. Cf. Soirée.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “serenade”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details