A compound of lull (an imitative soothing word) and by (a cradle-song refrain syllable), both echoing the soft sounds used across cultures to put children to sleep.
A quiet, gentle song sung to soothe a child to sleep.
A compound of lull (an imitative verb meaning to soothe or calm, attested from the 14th century) and by or bye, a common syllable used in refrains of cradle songs. The word may also echo the hushing sounds lu lu lu used across many cultures to calm infants. The structure parallels similar nursery compounds like hushaby and rockabye. Key