the.com/lullaby
A song engineered to defeat the very creature it sings to.
means A soft, soothing song sung to lull a child to sleep.
from Likely from the soothing syllable 'lull' — itself an imitation of the gentle 'lu-lu' sounds we make to quiet a baby — joined to 'bye,' probably another comforting sleep-sound (think 'bye-bye'). Some trace it to the murmured 'lulla, lulla' refrains of medieval cradle songs. So the word is built from the very noises crooned over a crib: it is, almost literally, the sound of hushing made into a name.
Origin wordFrom 'lull' plus 'bye,' a soothing goodbye to consciousness
Dark lyricsMany traditional ones warn of falling cradles and bogeymen
Universal tempoCultures worldwide independently slow them to about 60 beats
Brahms hitHis 1868 lullaby still sells millions of music boxes
Adult effectStudies show they lower heart rate in the singer too