Etymology

lullaby

L1U1L1L1A1B3Y4

Today it means: A cradlesong, a soothing song to calm children or lull them to sleep. Full definition →

Middle English lullen
Ask AI about its historyChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

The story

  1. Middle English · inherited fromlullen“to lull”
  2. English todaylullaby

From Middle English lullen (“to lull”) + bye. First recorded c. 1560. Compare Old English bī, bī (“lullaby!”, interjection).

Words from the same roots

Middle Englishlullen all →

lull

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.