Singing
/ˈsɪŋ.ɪŋ/noun
The act or practice of producing musical sounds with the voice.
Did you know?The verb behind “singing” is descended from Proto-Indo-European and has cognates in languages as far apart as Sanskrit, Latin, and Old Irish, revealing an exceptionally ancient shared word for vocal music.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*sengʷh-
“To sing or make a song; the reconstructed ancestral root of English sing.”
Proto-Germanic
Proto-Germanic
*singwaną
“To sing; the Germanic ancestor of the English verb.”
Old English
Old English
singan
“To sing, chant, or celebrate in song.”
Middle English
Middle English
singen
“To sing; the spelling and pronunciation developed after Old English.”
Modern English
English
sing
“To produce musical tones with the voice; “singing” is its present participle.”