yedding means A song, especially the song of a minstrel. It carries an Arena rating of 1622, earned across 79 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, yedding ranks #852 of 17,140 for Most Whimsical Words, #1,820 of 17,104 for Most Storied Words, #2,326 of 17,163 for Funniest Words, #2,586 of 17,130 for Most Beautiful Words.
Why “yedding” is a great word
YEDDING — [Noun] An obsolete term for a formal song or poetic recitation. From Middle English ȝedding, ȝeddynge, from Old English ġieddung (“utterance, saying, prophecy, song, poetry”), from ġieddian (“to speak formally, recite, sing”). Unlike a ballad, which denotes a structured folk narrative, or a lay, which specifies a short sung romance, a yedding was the broader, ancient act of deliberate vocal performance. It is the scop’s resonant voice in the firelit hall, the rhythmic chant of a prophecy before battle, and the measured cadence of a story passed from mouth to ear—the old word for the moment when speech lifts into song, a temporary stay against the surrounding silence.
Etymology
From Middle English ȝedding, ȝeddynge, from Old English ġieddung (“utterance, saying, prophecy, song, poetry, poetical recitation, meter”), from ġieddian (“to speak formally, discuss, speak with alliteration, recite, sing”), equivalent to yed + -ing.
noun
- A song, especially the song of a minstrel.
- A popular tale or romance, or a song embodying a popular tale or romance.e.g.“By the fifteenth century a yedding is glossed as a romance.” — 2013, Marcelle Theibaux, The Writings of Medieval Women, 2nd Edition: An Anthology:
- A burrow; a mole or rabbit hole.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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