Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A musical performance given to honor or express love for someone, often by one person.
  • noun An instrumental composition written for a small ensemble and having characteristics of the suite and the sonata.
  • intransitive verb To perform a serenade for.
  • intransitive verb To perform a serenade.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun In music, an evening song; especially, such a song sung by a lover at the window of his lady.
  • noun An instrumental piece resembling such a song; a nocturne.
  • noun Same as serenata.
  • To entertain with a serenade or nocturnal music.
  • To perform serenades or nocturnal music.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun Music sung or performed in the open air at nights; -- usually applied to musical entertainments given in the open air at night, especially by gentlemen, in a spirit of gallantry, under the windows of ladies.
  • noun A piece of music suitable to be performed at such times.
  • intransitive verb To perform a serenade.
  • transitive verb To entertain with a serenade.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun a love song, especially one performed below the window of a loved one in the evening
  • noun music an instrumental composition in several movements
  • verb to sing or play a serenade (for someone)

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a song characteristically played outside the house of a woman
  • verb sing and play for somebody
  • noun a musical composition in several movements; has no fixed form

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[French sérénade, from Italian serenata, from sereno, calm, clear, the open air, from Latin serēnus; see serene.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

French sérénade, from Italian serenata, from the past participle of serenare, from Latin serēnō, from serenus ("calm").

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Examples

  • But it wasn't enough to sidetrack Woods, who closed out the match at No. 17, where he made birdie after a comical serenade from a curious crow perched in

    Tiger pulls one out of hat 2000

  • It is the opposite of "serenade" - a song of the evening.

    aubade - French Word-A-Day 2010

  • It is the opposite of "serenade" - a song of the evening.

    aubade - French Word-A-Day 2010

  • He is like a lover or an outlaw who wraps up his message in a serenade, which is nonsense to the sentinel, but salvation to the ear for which it is meant.

    Uncollected Prose 2006

  • But no one, so mysterious are the manners of the pallid Cricket, knows exactly what is the source of the serenade, which is often, though quite erroneously, attributed to the common field-cricket, which at this period is silent and as yet quite young.

    Social Life in the Insect World Jean-Henri Fabre 1869

  • He is like a lover or an outlaw who wraps up his message in a serenade, which is nonsense to the sentinel, but salvation to the ear for which it is meant.

    Past and Present Thomas Carlyle 1838

  • He is like a lover or an outlaw who wraps up his message in a serenade, which is nonsense to the sentinel, but salvation to the ear for which it is meant.

    Uncollected Prose 1832

  • The serenade is a genre that is born out of love, Viglietti said at a news conference earlier this week.

    StarTribune.com rss feed 2011

  • The serenade is a genre that is born out of love, Viglietti said at a news conference earlier this week.

    FOXNews.com 2011

  • The serenade is a genre that is born out of love, Viglietti said at a news conference earlier this week.

    Breaking News: CBS News 2011

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