lull
noun
No English definition recorded for this entry.
L17845 on Wikidata ↗verb
- cause to feel calm or sleepy
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /lʌl/ / /lʊl/
name
Etymology: * As a German surname, from personal names based on Leute (“people, population”). * As a Catalan surname, spelling variant of Llull.
- A surname.
noun
Etymology: From Middle English lullen, lollen. Originally, perhaps expressive in origin from la-la-la or lu-lu-lu sounds made in calming a child. Compare Finnish laulaa (“to sing”) and Hiligaynon lala (“to sing a lullaby”). Cognate with Scots lul, lule, loll (“to lull, put to sleep, howl, caterwaul”), Dutch lollen (“to sing badly, caterwaul”), Dutch lullen (“to chatter, prate, cheat, deceive”), Low German lullen (“to lull”), German lullen (“to lull”), Danish lulle (“to lull, sing to sleep”), Swedish lulla (“to lull”), Icelandic lúlla (“to lull”).
- A period of rest or soothing.
- A period of reduced activity; a respite.
“After this departure there is a lull—one can almost feel the weary station breathing thankfulness!—broken only by the car-sleeper departing at 10.25 from Platform 6 […]. There is normally another lull from 1.45 to 4.30 a.m. till the daily round begins again, […].”
- A period without waves or wind.
“[…] during the lull, wind shifted to S. E. […]”
“After the lull the wind does not appear to have blown with any great strength […]”
- An extended pause between sets of waves.
“It is advisable to leave the surf zone during the lull between sets of larger waves, waiting outside the surf zone for a lull.”
“About 2 hours in, a long lull cleared everyone out, and then it started getting a little more consistent and pushing chest ta neck high.”
verb
Etymology: From Middle English lullen, lollen. Originally, perhaps expressive in origin from la-la-la or lu-lu-lu sounds made in calming a child. Compare Finnish laulaa (“to sing”) and Hiligaynon lala (“to sing a lullaby”). Cognate with Scots lul, lule, loll (“to lull, put to sleep, howl, caterwaul”), Dutch lollen (“to sing badly, caterwaul”), Dutch lullen (“to chatter, prate, cheat, deceive”), Low German lullen (“to lull”), German lullen (“to lull”), Danish lulle (“to lull, sing to sleep”), Swedish lulla (“to lull”), Icelandic lúlla (“to lull”).
- To cause to rest by soothing influences; to compose; to calm
“To lull him soft a sleepe”
“Such ſweet compulſion doth in muſick ly, / To lull the daughers of Neceſſity,”
- To become gradually calm; to subside; to cease or abate.
“The storm lulled.”
- To give somebody a false sense of security so that an unpleasant situation takes the person by surprise.
“They lulled us into thinking we still had time.”