serenade

UK/ˌsɛɹəˈneɪd/US/ˌsɛɹəˈneɪd/

nounC12 meaningsVery rare — outside the 30,000 commonest English words, so you will meet it in writing rather than in speechneutral

Other forms: serenades, serenading, serenaded

A serenade is a love song performed under somebody's window. Guitar, moonlight, and a considerable amount of nerve.

The tradition is real and Mediterranean in origin, and the word comes from the Italian for evening. Classical music borrowed it for a light instrumental piece, and Mozart wrote several. As a verb it means to perform one, and being serenaded is charming in a film and alarming at two in the morning. Modern use is nearly always affectionate or joking.

Definitions of serenade

1nounserenadeA song performed outdoors, traditionally to a lover.C1
“He gave her a serenade from the pavement, badly.”
2verbperformTo perform a song for somebody.C1
“The whole restaurant will serenade anybody having a birthday.”

Where it comes from

A serenade is named for the calm. Italian serenata goes back to Latin serenus, clear or untroubled, so the song belongs to a fine evening.

Latin
serenare
Italian
serenata
French
sérénade
English, today
serenade

Built from

serenus · Latin — calm

French sérénade, from Italian serenata, from the past participle of serenare, from Latin serenare, from serenus (“calm”), of uncertain origin (see there).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

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