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Song also Sung (sng)
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A Chinese dynasty (960-1279). Its rule was marked by economic prosperity, technological innovation, and a flourishing of art and culture.

[Mandarin Sòng, named by its founder Zhao Kuangyin after Sòng, the medieval prefecture where the title of emperor was conferred upon him and where his army was located at the time (roughly the region around modern Shangqiu in Henan province), from Middle Chinese sə`.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 
song (sông, sŏng)
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n.
1. Music
a. A brief composition written or adapted for singing.
b. The act or art of singing: broke into song.
2. A distinctive or characteristic sound made by an animal, such as a bird or an insect.
3.
a. Poetry; verse.
b. A lyric poem or ballad.
Idiom:
for a song Informal
At a low price: bought the antique tray for a song.

[Middle English, from Old English sang; see sengwh- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.