The verb is borrowed from Scots croon (“to utter a deep, long-drawn-out sound; to utter a lament, mourn; to sing in a wailing voice, whimper, whine; to mutter or sing in an undertone, hum”) [and other forms], from Middle English cronen (“to sing or speak softly, hum, croon”) (croyn (Scotland)) [and other forms], probably from Middle Dutch crônen, krônen (“to groan, moan; to lament”) (modern Dutch kreunen (“to moan”)), or Old High German chrônan, krônen (“to babble, prattle; to chatter”), probably from Proto-West Germanic *kraunijan, from Proto-Indo-European *gerH- (“to cry hoarsely”).
The noun is partly:
* borrowed from Scots croon (“a lament, wail; mournful song; low murmuring tune; (obsolete) long-drawn-out sound”), from croon (verb): see above; and
* derived from the verb.
Cognates
* Middle Dutch krônen (modern Dutch kreunen (“to groan, moan; to lament”))
* Middle Low German kroenen (“to babble, prattle; to chatter”), kronen (“to growl; to grumble; to scold”)
* Old High German chrônan, chrônnan (“to babble, prattle; to chatter”)
* Saterland Frisian krȫnen (“to cause to weep”)
Meanings
A soft, low-pitched sound; specifically, a soft or sentimental hum, song, or tune.
From away out in the darkness came a haunting croon from the lubras and children. 1931, Ion L. Idriess, Lasseter's Last Ride, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, page 72:
And really, Michael Jackson is a more fitting aspiration for the similarly sexless would-be-former teen heartthrob, who’s compared himself to the late King Of Pop (perhaps a bit prematurely) on several occasions and sings in a Jackson-like croon over a sample of “We’ve Got A Good Thing Going” on Believe’s “Die In Your Arms.” 2012 June 26, Genevieve Koski, “Music: Reviews: Justin Bieber: Believe”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 06 Aug 2020:
Bitterly she cried as she thought over the old hag's croon:— / "Quick joy, long pain, / You will take your gift again." 1866, C[harles] Kingsley, “How Hereward Turned Berserker”, in Hereward the Wake, “Last of the English.” […], volume I, London; Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Macmillan and Co., →OCLC, page 249:
O, a’ ye Bards on bonie Doon! / An’ vvha on Ayr your chanters tune! / Come, join the melancholious croon / O’ Robin’s reed! / His heart vvill never get aboon! / His Mailie’s dead! 1793, Robert Burns, “Poor Mailie’s Elegy”, in Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect. […], 2nd edition, volume I, Edinburgh: […] T[homas] Cadell, […], and William Creech, […], published 1793, →OCLC, page 115:
(Northern-England, Scotland) A continuous hollow low-pitched moan, as of cattle; a bellow.
The bittern mounts the morning air; / And rings the sky with quavering croon; […] 1813 January 30, James Hogg, “Night the Third. Mary Scott. The Fourteenth Bard’s Song.”, in The Queen’s Wake: A Legendary Poem, Edinburgh: George Goldie, […]; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, →OCLC, page 216:
Amang the brachens, on the brae, / Betvveen her an' the moon, / The Deil, or elſe an outler Quey, / Gat up an' gae a croon: […] 1785 (date written), Robert Burns, “Halloween”, in Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect. […], 2nd edition, volume I, Edinburgh: […] T[homas] Cadell, […], and William Creech, […], published 1793, →OCLC, stanza XXVI, page 191:
(Northern-England, Scotland) The low-pitched sound of a large bell.
de Schnulze (soft, low-pitched sound; soft or sentimental hum, song, or tune) · de sentimentaler Schlager (soft, low-pitched sound; soft or sentimental hum, song, or tune) · cs broukání (soft, low-pitched sound; soft or sentimental hum, song, or tune) · mk потпевну́вање (soft, low-pitched sound; soft or sentimental hum, song, or tune) · fi kumina (low-pitched sound of a large bell) · nl smartlap (soft, low-pitched sound; soft or sentimental hum, song, or tune) · gd luinneag (soft, low-pitched sound; soft or sentimental hum, song, or tune) · cs (tiché) prozpěvování (soft, low-pitched sound; soft or sentimental hum, song, or tune) · de gefühlsbetontes Lied (soft, low-pitched sound; soft or sentimental hum, song, or tune) · fi hyräily (soft, low-pitched sound; soft or sentimental hum, song, or tune) · cs pobrukování (soft, low-pitched sound; soft or sentimental hum, song, or tune) · de Schmachtfetzen (soft, low-pitched sound; soft or sentimental hum, song, or tune)
The verb is borrowed from Scots croon (“to utter a deep, long-drawn-out sound; to utter a lament, mourn; to sing in a wailing voice, whimper, whine; to mutter or sing in an undertone, hum”) [and other forms], from Middle English cronen (“to sing or speak softly, hum, croon”) (croyn (Scotland)) [and other forms], probably from Middle Dutch crônen, krônen (“to groan, moan; to lament”) (modern Dutch kreunen (“to moan”)), or Old High German chrônan, krônen (“to babble, prattle; to chatter”), probably from Proto-West Germanic *kraunijan, from Proto-Indo-European *gerH- (“to cry hoarsely”).
The noun is partly:
* borrowed from Scots croon (“a lament, wail; mournful song; low murmuring tune; (obsolete) long-drawn-out sound”), from croon (verb): see above; and
* derived from the verb.
Cognates
* Middle Dutch krônen (modern Dutch kreunen (“to groan, moan; to lament”))
* Middle Low German kroenen (“to babble, prattle; to chatter”), kronen (“to growl; to grumble; to scold”)
* Old High German chrônan, chrônnan (“to babble, prattle; to chatter”)
* Saterland Frisian krȫnen (“to cause to weep”)
Meanings
(transitive) To hum or sing (a song or tune), or to speak (words), softly in a low pitch or in a sentimental manner; specifically, to sing (a popular song) in a low, mellow voice.
He was crooning a song.
By the light of the silvery moon, / I want to spoon, / To my honey I'll croon love's tune, […] 1909, “By the Light of the Silvery Moon”, Ed[ward] Madden (lyrics), Gus Edwards (music), New York, N.Y.: Gus Edwards Music Pub Co, →OCLC, pages 4–5:
[A]ny other woman would have been melted to marrow at hearing such stanzas crooned in her praise. 1847 October 16, Currer Bell [pseudonym; Charlotte Brontë], chapter IX, in Jane Eyre. […], volume II, London: Smith, Elder, and Co., […], →OCLC, page 249:
Tam ſkelpit on thro' dub and mire, / Deſpiſing vvind, and rain, and fire; / VVhiles holding faſt his gude blue bonnet; / VVhiles crooning o'er ſome auld Scots ſonnet; […] 1790 (date written; published 1791), Robert Burns, “Tam o’ Shanter. A Tale.”, in Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect, 2nd edition, volume II, Edinburgh: […] T[homas] Cadell, […], and William Creech, […], published 1793, →OCLC, page 200:
So they went, toiling up [the staircase]; she singing all the way, and Paul sometimes crooning out a feeble accompaniment. 1846 October 1 – 1848 April 1, Charles Dickens, “Paul's Further Progress, Growth, and Character”, in Dombey and Son, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1848, →OCLC, page 69:
Thou croonest thy wild death-song o'er the world; / Serene Futurity thou dost conceal; / Thy banner is the shroud, the pall unfurled / Above mankind; […] 1856, Thomas L[ake] Harris, “Part Three”, in A Lyric of the Golden Age, New York, N.Y.: Partridge and Brittan, […], →OCLC, page 223:
(transitive) To soothe (a person or an animal) by singing softly.
[I]n his ill-remembered prayer, and in the fragment of the childish hymn with which he sung and crooned himself asleep, there breathed as true a spirit as ever studied homily expressed, or old cathedral arches echoed. 1841 February–November, Charles Dickens, “Barnaby Rudge. Chapter 73.”, in Master Humphrey’s Clock, volume III, London: Chapman & Hall, […], →OCLC, page 364:
“But, you know, crooners gonna croon.” 2021 September 16, Sarah Naftalis, “The Casino” (8:14 from the start), in What We Do in the Shadows, season 3, episode 1, spoken by Nadja of Antipaxos (Natasia Demetriou):
(intransitive) To hum or sing, or to speak, softly in a low pitch or in a sentimental manner; specifically, to sing a popular song in a low, mellow voice.
But hark! the robin takes up the strain. […] Thou art a type of the true poet, even of him who "crooneth to himsel" amid poverty, and want, and toil. Other birds require the sunshine and the flower to wake their musical utterances, but the drifting flake and the arrowy hail stay not thy song. 1856, Hugh M‘Donald, “No. XX.—Kirkintilloch and Campsie.”, in Rambles round Glasgow, Descriptive, Historical, and Traditional, 2nd edition, Glasgow: Thomas Murray and Son, →OCLC, page 390:
"You, my sweet boy," she croons. "How much you still owe me?" […] "Be happy I ain't charging interest like how the man and all his bug-a-boos do," she croons on. "Just gimme a twenty. You got a dub or not?" 2006, Bayo Ojikutu, Free Burning […], New York, N.Y.: Three Rivers Press, →ISBN, page 306:
She was crooning, but I couldn’t make out what the song was.
(Northern-England, Scotland, intransitive) To lament, to moan.
(Northern-England, Scotland, intransitive) To make a continuous hollow low-pitched moan, as of cattle; to bellow, to low.
'Thou hear'st that lordly Bull of mine, / Neighbour,' quoth Brunskill then; / 'How loudly to the hills he crunes, / That crune to him again.['] 1838, Robert Southey, “Brough Bells”, in The Poetical Works of Robert Southey. […], volume VI, London: […] [Andrew Spottiswoode] for Longman, Orme, Brown, Green, & Longmans, […], published 1838, →OCLC, page 227:
Novv Clinkumbell, vvi' rattlin tovv, / Begins to jovv an' croon; […] 1786, Robert Burns, “The Holy Fair”, in Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect. […], 2nd edition, volume I, Edinburgh: […] T[homas] Cadell, […], and William Creech, […], published 1793, →OCLC, stanza XXVI, page 51:
Above the marge of night a star still shines, / And on the frosty hills the sombre pines / Harbor an eerie wind that crooneth low / Over the glimmering wastes of virgin snow. 1916, L[ucy] M[aud] Montgomery, “[Songs of the Hills and Woods.] A Winter Dawn.”, in The Watchman and Other Poems, Toronto, Ont.: McClelland, Goodchild & Stewart, →OCLC, stanza 1, page 85:
Even the dull cattle crooned and gazed, / And murmured and looked with anxious pain / For something the mystery to explain. 1813 January 30, James Hogg, “Night the Second. Kilmeny. The Thirteenth Bard’s Song.”, in The Queen’s Wake: A Legendary Poem, Edinburgh: George Goldie, […]; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, →OCLC, page 192:
(Northern-England, Scotland, intransitive) Of a large bell: to make a low-pitched sound.
hu dúdol ((transitive, intransitive) to hum or sing (a song or tune) softly in a low pitch or in a sentimental manner; to sing (a popular song) in a low, mellow voice) · mk по́тшепне ((transitive, intransitive) to speak (words) softly in a low pitch or in a sentimental manner — see also coo) · fi hymistellä ((transitive, intransitive) to speak (words) softly in a low pitch or in a sentimental manner — see also coo) · cs broukat ((transitive, intransitive) to speak (words) softly in a low pitch or in a sentimental manner — see also coo) · ru напева́ть ((transitive, intransitive) to hum or sing (a song or tune) softly in a low pitch or in a sentimental manner; to sing (a popular song) in a low, mellow voice) · cmn 哼 ((transitive, intransitive) to hum or sing (a song or tune) softly in a low pitch or in a sentimental manner; to sing (a popular song) in a low, mellow voice) · ms ulit (to soothe (a person or an animal) by singing softly) · az zümzümə etmək ((transitive, intransitive) to hum or sing (a song or tune) softly in a low pitch or in a sentimental manner; to sing (a popular song) in a low, mellow voice) · mk по́тпевне ((transitive, intransitive) to hum or sing (a song or tune) softly in a low pitch or in a sentimental manner; to sing (a popular song) in a low, mellow voice) · es canturrear ((transitive, intransitive) to hum or sing (a song or tune) softly in a low pitch or in a sentimental manner; to sing (a popular song) in a low, mellow voice) · fi hyräillä ((transitive, intransitive) to hum or sing (a song or tune) softly in a low pitch or in a sentimental manner; to sing (a popular song) in a low, mellow voice) · cs šeptat ((transitive, intransitive) to speak (words) softly in a low pitch or in a sentimental manner — see also coo) · pl nucić ((transitive, intransitive) to hum or sing (a song or tune) softly in a low pitch or in a sentimental manner; to sing (a popular song) in a low, mellow voice) · cs tiše zpívat ((transitive, intransitive) to hum or sing (a song or tune) softly in a low pitch or in a sentimental manner; to sing (a popular song) in a low, mellow voice) · fi kumista (of a large bell: to make a low-pitched sound) · sh pjevúšiti ((transitive, intransitive) to hum or sing (a song or tune) softly in a low pitch or in a sentimental manner; to sing (a popular song) in a low, mellow voice) · fi hymistä ((transitive, intransitive) to speak (words) softly in a low pitch or in a sentimental manner — see also coo) · ota اوكورمك (to make a continuous hollow low-pitched moan, as of cattle — see also bellow, low) · pl zanucić ((transitive, intransitive) to hum or sing (a song or tune) softly in a low pitch or in a sentimental manner; to sing (a popular song) in a low, mellow voice) · vi ngâm nga ((transitive, intransitive) to hum or sing (a song or tune) softly in a low pitch or in a sentimental manner; to sing (a popular song) in a low, mellow voice) · ota چاغرمق (to make a continuous hollow low-pitched moan, as of cattle — see also bellow, low) · cmn 低唱 ((transitive, intransitive) to hum or sing (a song or tune) softly in a low pitch or in a sentimental manner; to sing (a popular song) in a low, mellow voice) · de säuseln ((transitive, intransitive) to hum or sing (a song or tune) softly in a low pitch or in a sentimental manner; to sing (a popular song) in a low, mellow voice) · fi hyräillä (to soothe (a person or an animal) by singing softly) · bg напявам ((transitive, intransitive) to hum or sing (a song or tune) softly in a low pitch or in a sentimental manner; to sing (a popular song) in a low, mellow voice) · fi ynistä (to make a continuous hollow low-pitched moan, as of cattle — see also bellow, low) · sh пјеву́шити ((transitive, intransitive) to hum or sing (a song or tune) softly in a low pitch or in a sentimental manner; to sing (a popular song) in a low, mellow voice) · cs pobrukovat si ((transitive, intransitive) to hum or sing (a song or tune) softly in a low pitch or in a sentimental manner; to sing (a popular song) in a low, mellow voice) · nl neuriën ((transitive, intransitive) to hum or sing (a song or tune) softly in a low pitch or in a sentimental manner; to sing (a popular song) in a low, mellow voice) · gl cantaruxar ((transitive, intransitive) to hum or sing (a song or tune) softly in a low pitch or in a sentimental manner; to sing (a popular song) in a low, mellow voice) · de summen ((transitive, intransitive) to hum or sing (a song or tune) softly in a low pitch or in a sentimental manner; to sing (a popular song) in a low, mellow voice) · cs broukat si ((transitive, intransitive) to hum or sing (a song or tune) softly in a low pitch or in a sentimental manner; to sing (a popular song) in a low, mellow voice) · ca entonar ((transitive, intransitive) to hum or sing (a song or tune) softly in a low pitch or in a sentimental manner; to sing (a popular song) in a low, mellow voice) · bg танани́кам ((transitive, intransitive) to hum or sing (a song or tune) softly in a low pitch or in a sentimental manner; to sing (a popular song) in a low, mellow voice)