carol

From Middle English carole, from Old French carole, from Old Italian carola, from Medieval Latin choraula, a variant of choraulēs (“flute player accompanying a chorus dance”), from Ancient Greek χοραυλής (khoraulḗs, “one who accompanies a chorus on the flute”), from χορός (khorós, “choir; dance”) (possibly from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰer- (“to enclose”) or *ǵʰoros) + αὐλός (aulós, “flute”) (from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ewlos (“tube”)). Compare chorus, terpsichorean.

• IPA^(key): /ˈkæɹəl/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈkɛɹəl/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: car‧ol
• Rhymes: -æɹəl

carol (plural carols)

1. (historical) A round dance accompanied by singing.
   • 2010, Stephen Medcalf, “On Reading Books from a Half-alien Culture”, in Brian Cummings, Gabriel Josipovici, editors, The Spirit of England: Selected Essays of Stephen Medcalf, Abingdon, Oxon., New York, N.Y.: Legenda, Modern Humanities Research Association and Routledge, →ISBN, page 87:

     The carol, a combination of dance, music and song performed by a group, has a parallel history [to the mystery plays]. Although it existed earlier as a secular form – the round dance of which St Hugh's biographer was reminded by the shafts at Lincoln – it seems to have been turned to pious uses from about 1350.

2. A ballad or song of joy.
   • c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, A Midsommer Nights Dreame.  (First Quarto), London: for Thomas Fisher, , published 1600, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]:

     The humane mortals want their winter heere
     No night is now with hymme or carroll bleſt;
     Therefore the Moone (the gouerneſſe of floods)
     Pale in her anger, waſhes all the aire;
     That Rheumaticke diſeaſes do abound.

   • 1700, [John] Dryden, “Palamon and Arcite: Or, The Knight’s Tale. In Three Books.”, in Fables Ancient and Modern; , London: Jacob Tonson, , →OCLC, book II, pages 42–43:

     Oppos'd to her, on t' other Side, advance
     The coſtly Feaſt, the Carol, and the Dance,
     Minſtrels, Muſick, Poetry, and Play,
     And Balls by Night, and Turnaments by Day.

   • 1908 October, Kenneth Grahame, “The River Bank”, in The Wind in the Willows, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, →OCLC, page 2:

     The sunshine struck hot on his fur, soft breezes caressed his heated brow, and after the seclusion of the cellarage he had lived in so long the carol of happy birds fell on his dulled hearing almost like a shout.

   1. (specifically) A (usually traditional) religious or secular song sung at Christmastime.

      They sang a Christmas carol.

      • 1632, Randle Cotgrave, Robert Sherwood, “Carolle”, in A Dictionarie of the French and English Tongues. Compiled by Randle Cotgrave. Wherevnto is also Annexed a Most Copious Dictionarie, of the English Set before the French. By R S L, London: Printed by Adam Islip, →OCLC:

        Carolle: f[eminine]. A kind of daunce wherein many daunce together; alſo, a Carroll, or Chriſtmas ſong.

      • 1827, [John Keble], “Christmas Day”, in The Christian Year: Thoughts in Verse for the Sundays and Holydays throughout the Year, volume I, Oxford, Oxfordshire: y W. Baxter, for J. Parker; and C and J Rivington, , →OCLC, page 29:

        Think on th' eternal home,
        The Saviour left for you;
        Think on the Lord most holy, come
        To dwell with hearts untrue:
        So shall ye tread untir'd his pastoral ways,
        And in the darkness sing your carol of high praise.

      • 1843 December 19, Charles Dickens, “Stave I. Marley’s Ghost.”, in A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas, London: Chapman & Hall, , →OCLC, pages 16–17:

        Foggier yet, and colder! Piercing, searching, biting cold. If the good Saint Dunstan had but nipped the Evil Spirit's nose with a touch of such weather as that, instead of using his familiar weapons, then indeed he would have roared to lusty purpose. The owner of one scant young nose, gnawed and mumbled by the hungry cold as bones are gnawed by dogs, stooped down at Scrooge's keyhole to regale him with a Christmas carol: but at the first sound of—
        "God bless you merry gentleman!
        May nothing you dismay!"
        Scrooge seized the ruler with such energy of action, that the singer fled in terror, leaving the keyhole to the fog and even more congenial frost.

      • 1863 December 25, Henry W[adsworth] Longfellow, “Christmas Bells”, in J[ohn] T[ownsend] Trowbridge, Gail Hamilton [pseudonym; Mary Abigail Dodge], Lucy Larcom, editors, Our Young Folks. An Illustrated Magazine for Boys and Girls, volume I, number II, Boston, Mass.: Ticknow and Fields, 124 Tremont Street, published February 1865, →OCLC, page 123:

        I heard the bells on Christmas Day
        Their old, familiar carols play,
        And wild and sweet
        The words repeat
        Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

      • 1945, “The Christmas Song: Merry Christmas to You: S.A.T.B. with Incidental Soprano Solos and Piano Accompaniment”, Mel Tormé, Bob Wells (lyrics), Mel Tormé (music), New York, N.Y.: E. H. Morris, published 1946, →OCLC:

        Chestnuts roasting on an open fire
        Jack Frost nipping at your nose
        Yuletide carols being sung by a choir
        And folks dressed up like Eskimos

      • 2015 December 21, Gary Trust, “Carey’s 1994 Classic Reaches a New Peak (No. 18) while Continuing atop the Holiday 100 Chart”, in Billboard‎, archived from the original on 20 November 2017:

        More than two decades after its original release, Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You" continues to hit new heights. The 1994 carol rises 22–18 on the Billboard Hot 100 (dated Jan. 2, 2016), scoring its best rank ever on the chart.

• carrol, carroll (archaic)

• Carol Green
• carol singer
• Christmas carol

carol (third-person singular simple present carols, present participle (UK) carolling or (US) caroling, simple past and past participle (UK) carolled or (US) caroled)

1. (intransitive, historical) To participate in a carol (a round dance accompanied by singing).
   • 1990, Christopher Page, “Jeunesse and the Courtly Song Repertory”, in The Owl and the Nightingale: Musical Life and Ideas in France 1100–1300, 1st U.S. edition, Berkeley, Los Angeles, Calif.: University of California Press, →ISBN, page 91:

     You might see the townsmen and the ladies carolling in the squares, squires and serjans and young girls singing; there is no street and no house to be found there that is not adorned with hangings of gold and silk.

2. (intransitive) To sing in a joyful manner.
   • 1579, Immeritô [pseudonym; Edmund Spenser], “October. Ægloga Decima.”, in The Shepheardes Calender: , London: Iohn Wolfe for Iohn Harrison the yonger, , →OCLC, folio 41, recto:

     And when the ſtubborne ſtroke of ſtronger ſtounds,
     Has ſomewhat ſlackt the tenor of thy ſtring;
     Of loue and luſtihead tho maiſt thou ſing,
     And carroll lowde, and leade the Millers rounde, [...]

   • 1766 April, “Day: A Pastoral. From Cunningham’s Poems. ”, in The London Magazine. Or, Gentleman’s Monthly Intelligencer, volume XXXV, London: Printed for R. Baldwin at the Rose, in Pater-noster Row, →OCLC, page 207, column 2:

     As the lark with vary'd tune,
     Carrols to the evening loud;
     Mark the mild reſplendent moon,
     Breaking through a parted cloud!

   • 1771, James Beattie, The Minstrel; or, The Progress of Genius. A Poem. Book the First, London: E & C Dilly, ; Edinburgh: A Kincaid and W Creech; and J Bell, , →OCLC, stanza VII, page 4:

     Riſe, ſons of harmony, and hail the morn,
     While warbling larks on ruſſet pinions float;
     Or ſeek at noon the woodland ſcene remote,
     Where the grey linnets carol from the hill.

   • 1859, [Peter Christen Asbjørnsen; Jørgen Engebretsen Moe], “The Mastermaid”, in George Webbe Dasent, transl., Popular Tales from the Norse With an Introductory Essay on the Origin and Diffusion of Popular Tales, 2nd enlarged edition, Edinburgh: Edmonston and Douglas, →OCLC, pages 81–82:

     "Sure enough, it is an easy master I have got," said the Prince to himself, as he walked up and down the room, and carolled and sang, for he thought there was plenty of time to clean out the stable.

   • 1958, Anthony Burgess, The Enemy in the Blanket, London: William Heinemann, →OCLC; republished in The Malayan Trilogy: Time for a Tiger; The Enemy in the Blanket; Beds in the East (Vintage Burgess), London: Vintage Books, 2000, →ISBN, page 263:

     Soon Kartar Singh obliged with a song:
     "A bird sat high on a banyan tree,
     Carolling night and carolling day,
     And on the heads of the passers-by …"

   • 1981, Julian May, The Many-colored Land, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin, →ISBN; republished as The Many-coloured Land, London: Tor Books, 2013, →ISBN, page 389:

     'Yoo-hoo!' he caroled. 'Goody time!'

3. (intransitive) To sing carols; especially to sing Christmas carols in a group.
   • 2012, Patrena Dawkins-Anderson, chapter 8, in Chongtu: Conflict, Pittsburgh, Pa.: Red Lead Press, →ISBN, page 48:

     Christmas morning was welcomed by services in some churches. Everyone in the Bingham house, along with other church members, went carolling at five o'clock in the morning, which culminated in the Christmas message at the church, delivered by the pastor. Everyone's heart was blessed.

   • 2014, Christmas at Grandma’s, Columbus, Oh.: Gooseberry Patch, →ISBN, page 80:

     Gather up the neighbor kids and go caroling around the neighborhood … just for the joy of singing together!

4. (transitive) To praise or celebrate in song.
   • 1634 October 9 (first performance), [John Milton], edited by H[enry] Lawes, A Maske Presented at Ludlow Castle, 1634:  [Comus], London: [Augustine Matthews] for Hvmphrey Robinson, , published 1637, →OCLC; reprinted as Comus:  (Dodd, Mead & Company’s Facsimile Reprints of Rare Books; Literature Series; no. I), New York, N.Y.: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1903, →OCLC, page 29, lines 842–851:

     [S]till ſhe [Sabrina, a water nymph] retaines
     Her maiden gentleneſſe, and oft at eve
     Viſits the heards along the twilight meadows,
     Helping all urchin blaſts, and ill lucke ſignes,
     That the ſhrewd medling elfe delights to make,
     Which ſhe with precious viol'd liquors heales;
     For which the ſhepheards at their feſtivalls
     Carroll her goodneſſe lowd in ruſticke layes,
     And throw ſweet garland wreaths into her ſtreame
     Of pancies, pinks, and gaudie daffadills.

5. (transitive) To sing (a song) cheerfully.
   • 1656, T. S., “The Third Month Called May hath xxxj Dayes”, in An Almanack for the Year of Our Lord 1656. Being First after Leap Year; and from the Creation 5588. Calculated for the Longitude of 315 gr: and 42 gr: 30 min. of N. Lat: and may Generally Serve for the Most Part of New England, Cambridge, Mass.: Printed by Samuel Green, →OCLC:

     Now Sol hath ſcap't the Oxes horn,
     The Ram, the winds, the ſtormes, and harms;
     The loving Twins by Leda born,
     Will entertain him in their arms.
     And Flora ſmiles to feel thoſe beams
     Which whilom were with-drawn ſo long.
     The pratling birds, the purling ſtreams
     Do carroll forth her wedding ſong.

   • 1719, Mat Prior, “The Second Hymn of Callimachus to Apollo”, in Poems on Several Occasions, Dublin: Printed for J. Hyde in Dame-street, R. Gunne in Caple-street, R. Owen in Skinner-row, and E. Dobson in Castle-street, booksellers, →OCLC, page 222:

     Why do the Delian Palms incline their Boughs,
     Self-mov'd; and hov'ring Swans, their Throats releas'd
     From native Silence, carol Sounds harmonious?

   • 1774, William Richardson, “Runny Mead”, in Poems, Chiefly Rural, Glasgow: Printed by Robert & Andrew Foulis, printers to the University, →OCLC, page 64:

     [...] Ye villagers rejoice;
     And ye who cultivate the fertile glebe
     Carrol the gladſome ſong. For you the plain
     Shall wave with wheaten harveſts; and the gale
     From blooming bean-fields ſhall diffuſe perfume.

• carrol, carroll (archaic)

• wassail

See carrel.

carol (plural carols)

1. (architecture) Alternative form of carrel (“small closet or enclosure built against a window on the inner side, to sit in for study”).