croon

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croon

/kɹuːn/ UK
/kɹun/ US
/krøn/ Scotland
/krʏn/ Scotland

Rhymes with -uːn

Where it comes from

The verb is borrowed from Scots croon (“to utter a deep, long-drawn-out sound; to utter a lament, mourn; to sing in a wailing voice, whimper, whine; to mutter or sing in an undertone, hum”) [and other forms], from Middle English cronen (“to sing or speak softly, hum, croon”) (croyn (Scotland)) [and other forms], probably from Middle Dutch crônen, krônen (“to groan, moan; to lament”) (modern Dutch kreunen (“to moan”)), or Old High German chrônan, krônen (“to babble, prattle; to chatter”), probably from Proto-West Germanic *kraunijan, from Proto-Indo-European *gerH- (“to cry hoarsely”).

The noun is partly:

* borrowed from Scots croon (“a lament, wail; mournful song; low murmuring tune; (obsolete) long-drawn-out sound”), from croon (verb): see above; and

* derived from the verb.

Cognates

* Middle Dutch krônen (modern Dutch kreunen (“to groan, moan; to lament”))

* Middle Low German kroenen (“to babble, prattle; to chatter”), kronen (“to growl; to grumble; to scold”)

* Old High German chrônan, chrônnan (“to babble, prattle; to chatter”)

* Saterland Frisian krȫnen (“to cause to weep”)

verb croons · crooning · crooned · croon

transitive To hum or sing (a song or tune), or to speak (words), softly in a low pitch or in a sentimental manner; specifically, to sing (a popular song) in a low, mellow voice. He was crooning a song.
transitive To soothe (a person or an animal) by singing softly. [I]n his ill-remembered prayer, and in the fragment of the childish hymn with which he sung and crooned himself asleep, there breathed as true a spirit as ever studied homily expressed, or old cathedral arches echoed.
intransitive To hum or sing, or to speak, softly in a low pitch or in a sentimental manner; specifically, to sing a popular song in a low, mellow voice. She was crooning, but I couldn’t make out what the song was.
Similar: coo
Northern England, Scotland, intransitive To lament, to moan.
Northern England, Scotland, intransitive To make a continuous hollow low-pitched moan, as of cattle; to bellow, to low. Novv Clinkumbell, vvi' rattlin tovv, / Begins to jovv an' croon; […]
Northern England, Scotland, intransitive Of a large bell: to make a low-pitched sound.

noun croons

A soft, low-pitched sound; specifically, a soft or sentimental hum, song, or tune. O, a’ ye Bards on bonie Doon! / An’ vvha on Ayr your chanters tune! / Come, join the melancholious croon / O’ Robin’s reed! / His heart vvill never get aboon! / His Mailie’s dead!
Northern England, Scotland A continuous hollow low-pitched moan, as of cattle; a bellow. Amang the brachens, on the brae, / Betvveen her an' the moon, / The Deil, or elſe an outler Quey, / Gat up an' gae a croon: […]
Northern England, Scotland The low-pitched sound of a large bell.

Translations

Every language

verb (transitive, intransitive) to hum or sing (a song or tune) softly in a low pitch or in a sentimental manner; to sing (a popular song) in a low, mellow voice

Español	canturrear
中文	低唱 dīchàng, 哼 hēng
Deutsch	säuseln, summen
Ελληνικά	σιγοτραγουδάω sigotragoudáo
Русский	напева́ть napevátʹ
Tiếng Việt	ngâm nga

noun soft, low-pitched sound; soft or sentimental hum, song, or tune

Deutsch	gefühlsbetontes Lied, Schmachtfetzen, Schnulze, sentimentaler Schlager

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MLA

"croon." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/croon. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

croon. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/croon

Chicago

"croon." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/croon.

BibTeX

@misc{croon_2026,
  title = {croon},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/croon},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}