Skip to the word

Added 8 October 2026

serenade

/ˌsɛɹəˈneɪd/ noun

In Latin: occentus, serenata Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about serenade at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A musical composition in several movements; has no fixed form.
A song characteristically played outside the house of a woman.

verb

Sing and play for somebody.
She was serenaded by her admirers

Origin

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

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

Back to today's word