Lull

How to spell lull

4 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce lull

What does lull mean?

1. verbTo soothe or calm someone into a relaxed, drowsy, or off-guard state.
2. nounA temporary pause or period of calm in activity, noise, or a storm.

Lull in a sentence

• verb

  The steady hum of the engine can lull tired drivers into a dangerous calm.

• noun

  The shop saw a brief lull in customers after the lunch rush.

• verb

  Gentle rocking will usually lull the baby to sleep within minutes.

• noun

  Sailors used the lull between squalls to repair the torn sail.

Where does lull come from?

Language of origin: Other

Lull is a Middle English word, recorded from around the year 1300, and it began life as an imitative or echoic creation rather than a borrowing from any classical tongue. The repeated 'lu lu' syllables imitate the soft, monotonous sounds a parent makes while rocking a child to sleep, and similar nursery sounds appear across many languages, such as the Swedish 'lulla' and the Latin 'lallare', both meaning to sing to sleep. From the sense of soothing an infant, English extended the verb to mean calming any restlessness, and from there to the figurative idea of giving someone a false sense of security. The familiar noun 'lullaby' grew directly from this same root, pairing 'lull' with a parting 'bye' or 'goodnight' element. The doubled 'l' at the end is the only real spelling point, mirroring the soft, repeated sound that gave the word its origin.

How the word is built

• lull (imitative root suggesting a soothing 'lu-lu' sound used to quiet an infant)