# song

Pronunciation: US say "SAWNG" /sɔŋ/; UK say "SONG" /sɒŋ/

## Noun

1. A short piece of music, usually with words meant to be sung, though loosely also one without words.
   - Simple: A short piece of music, usually with words for singing, but sometimes without words.
   - _The band closed their set with a song everyone knew by heart._
   - _Her new song topped the charts within a week._
2. The musical sounds made by a bird, insect, whale, or other animal, especially a bird's call to attract a mate or mark territory.
   - Simple: The musical sounds a bird or other animal makes, often to attract a mate or warn others away.
   - _Researchers recorded the humpback's song over several nights at sea._
   - _The cricket's song filled the warm summer air outside the cabin._
3. The activity or art of producing music with the human voice.
   - Simple: The act of making music with your voice.
   - _The congregation joined in song to close the service._
   - _He was so happy that he broke into song on the way home._
4. A price far below an item's expected value, used chiefly in the phrase "for a song."
   - Simple: A very low price, far less than something is really worth.
   - _The painting later sold for millions, but she had picked it up for a song._
   - _We snagged the lakeside cabin for a song because it needed repairs._
5. A work of poetry; a poetical composition or verse.
   - Simple: A poem, or written poetry of any kind.

## Noun

6. A person or thing held up to mockery; a laughing stock. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A person or thing that everyone laughs at.

## Origin

From Middle English "song" or "sang," from Old English "sang," going back to Proto-Germanic *sangwaz ("singing, song") and ultimately the Proto-Indo-European root *sengʷʰ- ("to sing"). It is related to Dutch "zang," German "Sang," and Swedish "sång," and connects to the word "sing."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/song (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).