refrain

  • 1refrain — [ r(ə)frɛ̃ ] n. m. • 1260; altér. de refrait, de refraindre (lat. pop. ° refrangere) « briser », et par ext. « réprimer, contenir; moduler la voix » 1 ♦ Suite de mots ou de phrases qui revient à la fin de chaque couplet d une chanson, d un poème… …

    Encyclopédie Universelle

  • 2refrain — REFRAIN. s. m. Un ou plusieurs vers, ou quelques mots seulement qui se repetent à chaque couplet d une chanson, d une balade, d un chant Royal, &c. Le refrain de cette chanson est fort agreable. le refrain de la balade. On appelle aussi fig.… …

    Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

  • 3refrain — refrain, abstain, forbear are comparable when they mean to keep or withhold oneself voluntarily from something to which one is moved by desire or impulse. Refrain is especially suitable when the checking of a momentary inclination is implied… …

    New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • 4Refrain — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda «Refrain» Canción de Lys Assia Álbum Festival de la Canción de Eurovisión 1956 Publicación 1956 …

    Wikipedia Español

  • 5Refrain — Re*frain , n. [F. refrain, fr. OF. refraindre; cf. Pr. refranhs a refrain, refranher to repeat. See {Refract},{Refrain}, v.] 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… …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 6refrain — ‘chorus of a song’ [14] and refrain ‘desist’ [14] are different words. The former comes via Old French refrain from Provençal refranh. This was a derivative of the verb refranhar, which went back via Vulgar Latin *refrangere to Latin refringere… …

    The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins

  • 7Refrain — Sm Kehrreim erw. fach. (18. Jh.) Entlehnung. Entlehnt aus frz. refrain, eigentlich Rückprall der Wogen von den Klippen , einer Ableitung von afrz. refraindre brechen , aus l. refringere (refrāctum) aufbrechen, zerbrechen , zu l. frangere brechen …

    Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen sprache

  • 8refrain — Ⅰ. refrain [1] ► VERB (refrain from) ▪ stop oneself from (doing something). ORIGIN Latin refrenare, from frenum bridle . Ⅱ. refrain [2] ► NOUN ▪ a repeated line or section …

    English terms dictionary

  • 9refrain — ‘chorus of a song’ [14] and refrain ‘desist’ [14] are different words. The former comes via Old French refrain from Provençal refranh. This was a derivative of the verb refranhar, which went back via Vulgar Latin *refrangere to Latin refringere… …

    Word origins

  • 10Refrain — Re*frain (r[ e]*fr[=a]n ), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Refrained} ( fr[=a]nd ); p. pr. & vb. n. {Refraining}.] [OE. refreinen, OF. refrener, F. refr[ e]ner, fr. L. refrenare; influenced by OF. refraindre to restrain, moderate, fr. LL. refrangere, for L …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English