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lullaby

 - 3 dictionary results

lull⋅a⋅by

[luhl-uh-bahy] noun, plural -bies, verb, -bied, -by⋅ing.
–noun
1. a song used to lull a child to sleep; cradlesong.
2. any lulling song.
–verb (used with object)
3. to lull with or as with a lullaby.

Origin:
1550–60; equiv. to lulla, lulla(y), interj. used in cradlesongs (late ME lullai, lulli) + -by, as in bye-bye
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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lull·a·by   (lŭl'ə-bī')   
n.   pl. lull·a·bies
A soothing song with which to lull a child to sleep.
tr.v.   lull·a·bied, lull·a·bying, lull·a·bies
To quiet with or as if with a lullaby.

[Obsolete lulla, word used in lullabies (from Middle English lullai, from lullen, to lull; see lull) + bye2.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

lullaby 
c.1560, lulley by, from M.E. lollai, lullay, from lullen (see lull). Second element perhaps from by-by "good-by."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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