nursery rhyme

nursery rhyme

noun

Definition of NURSERY RHYME

: a short rhyme for children that often tells a story

First Known Use of NURSERY RHYME

1816

Rhymes with NURSERY RHYME

access time, aftertime, anytime, beforetime, Bettelheim, borrowed time, central time, Christmastime, common time, dinnertime, double prime, double-time, drop a dime, eastern time, elapsed time, Father Time, harvesttime, Hildesheim, in jig time, just-in-time, Kaffir lime, lemon thyme, local time, lysozyme, Mannerheim, maritime, monorhyme, mountain time, on a dime, overtime, pantomime, Pappenheim, paradigm, question time, released time, running time, soda lime, standard time, summertime, take one's time, vowel rhyme, wintertime

nursery rhyme

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Verse customarily told or sung to small children. Though the oral tradition of nursery rhymes is ancient, the largest number date from the 16th, 17th, and (most frequently) 18th centuries. Apparently most rhymes were originally composed for adults, many as popular ballads and songs. The earliest known published collection is Tommy Thumb's (Pretty) Song Book (1744), including “Little Tom Tucker,” “Sing a Song of Sixpence,” and “Who Killed Cock Robin?” The most influential collection was Mother Goose's Melody (1781), including “Jack and Jill,” “Ding Dong Bell,” and “Hush-a-bye Baby on the Tree Top.”