Lexic.us

Definition of Refrain

1. Verb. Resist doing something. "She could not forbear weeping"

2. Noun. The part of a song where a soloist is joined by a group of singers.

3. Verb. Choose not to consume. "I abstain from alcohol"

Definition of Refrain

1. v. t. To hold back; to restrain; to keep within prescribed bounds; to curb; to govern.

2. v. i. To keep one's self from action or interference; to hold aloof; to forbear; to abstain.

3. n. The burden of a song; a phrase or verse which recurs at the end of each of the separate stanzas or divisions of a poetic composition.

Definition of Refrain

1. Verb. (transitive archaic) To hold back, to restrain (someone or something). (defdate from 14th c.) ¹

2. Verb. (reflexive archaic) To show restraint; to hold oneself back. (defdate from 14th c.) ¹

3. Verb. (context: transitive now rare) To repress (a desire, emotion etc.); to check or curb. (defdate from 14th c.) ¹

4. Verb. (intransitive) To stop oneself (term from) some action or interference; to abstain. (defdate from 15th c.) ¹

5. Verb. (context: transitive now rare regional) To abstain from (food or drink). (defdate from 16th c.) ¹

6. Noun. The chorus or burden of a song repeated at the end of each verse or stanza. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Refrain

1. to keep oneself back [v -ED, -ING, -S]

Medical Definition of Refrain

1. The burden of a song; a phrase or verse which recurs at the end of each of the separate stanzas or divisions of a poetic composition. "We hear the wild refrain." (Whittier) Origin: F. Refrain, fr. OF. Refraindre; cf. Pr. Refranhs a refrain, refranher to repeat. See Refract,Refrain. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Refrain

refractory lining refractory metal refractory metals refractory period of electronic pacemaker refractory pot refractory rhyme refractory rickets refractory state refracts refracture

refractured refractures refracturing refragable refrain (current term) refrained refrainer refrainers refrainest refraineth

refraining refrainment refrainments refrains reframe reframed reframer reframers reframes

Literary usage of Refrain

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. The Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the by Charles George Herbermann (1913)
"It had come to be no longer a matter of an interjected refrain, ... The refrain, a kind of exclamation foreign to the context, recurring at stated intervals ..."

2. The Medieval Popular Ballad by Edward Godfrey Cox (1914)
"CHAPTER IV THE refrain The refrain is a distinctive characteristic of the ... The first part of such 'a many-jointed refrain can be interpolated in a ..."

3. Publications by Folklore Society (Great Britain) (1907)
"FOLK-SONG refrain. Not long ago I heard the nursery song, "Froggy would a-wooing go," sung in Ripon with the following refrain: ..."

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