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Usenet Posted 21 years ago
Usage

What does 'nonny' mean?

lately i read about the poem "Sigh No More, Ladies..." (From "Much Ado about Nothing"). it aroused my question, i.e., what does the nonny mean here?
additionally, does the leavy here mean the engery that summer emits? or anyone would like to explain it are
also welcomed.
i appreciate it sincerely.

poem

beg
Sigh no more, ladies, sigh nor more;
Men were deceivers ever;
One foot in sea and one on shore,
To one thing constant never;
Then sigh not so,
But let them go,
And be you blithe and bonny;
Converting all your sounds of woe
Into. Hey nonny, nonny.
Sing no more ditties, sing no mo,
Or dumps so dull and heavy;
The fraud of men was ever so,
Since summer first was leavy.
Then sigh not so,
But let them go,
And be you blithe and bonny,
Converting all your sounds of woe
Into. Hey, nonny, nonny.

poem

end
  

Top answer

" (From "Much Ado about Nothing"). [/nq] It's a nonsense word with no particular meaning, but was typical of English folk songs of that era. It imparts rhythm, implies jollity, punctuates a song and provides a chorus which everyone can join in with.

— Usenet

  • " (From "Much Ado about Nothing").
  • [/nq] It's a nonsense word with no particular meaning, but was typical of English folk songs of that era.
  • It imparts rhythm, implies jollity, punctuates a song and provides a chorus which everyone can join in with.
  • The phrase "hey-nonny-no", and variations of it, have now become something of a derisive way to reference traditional English folk songs, in the same way that people describe stereotypical Irish music as "tiddly-i-ti" music.
  • [/nq] I'm guessing that it would now be 'leafy' - that is, bearing leaves.
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16 Answers
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[nq:1]lately i read about the poem "Sigh No More, Ladies..." (From "Much Ado about Nothing"). it aroused my question, i.e., what does the nonny mean here?[/nq]
It's a nonsense word with no particular meaning, but was typical of English folk songs of that era. It imparts rhythm, implies jollity, punctuates a song and provides a chorus which everyone can join in with.
The phrase "hey-nonny-n
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[nq:2]lately i read about the poem "Sigh No More, Ladies..." ... aroused my question, i.e., what does the nonny mean here?[/nq]
[nq:1]It's a nonsense word with no particular meaning, but was typical of English folk songs of that era. It imparts rhythm, implies jollity, punctuates a song and provides a chorus which everyone can join in with.[/nq]
snip
For what it's worth, OED
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[nq:1]It's a nonsense word with no particular meaning, but was typical of English folk songs of that era. It imparts rhythm, implies jollity, punctuates a song and provides a chorus which everyone can join in with.[/nq]
I believe the term for it is, of all things, "burden".

Michael DeBusk, Co-Conspirator to Make the World a Better Place Did he update
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[nq:1]On 06 Apr 2005, Stewart Hargrave wrote[/nq]
[nq:2]It's a nonsense word with no particular meaning, but was ... and provides a chorus which everyone can join in with.[/nq]
[nq:1]snip For what it's worth, OED also notes that "nonny-nonny" which, like "nonny-no" is a meaningless refrain of obscure origin was"formerly often used to cover indelicate allusions".[/nq]
The
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[nq:2]It's a nonsense word with no particular meaning, but was ... and provides a chorus which everyone can join in with.[/nq]
[nq:1]I believe the term for it is, of all things, "burden".[/nq]
Or "burthen."
Walt Kelly, creator of "Pogo", once launched into a series of strips featuring a curly haired girl with no visible pupils in her eyes. She also had a tiny little dog. The girl was n
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[nq:1]So the strip within a strip in which they appeared was "Little Arf and Nonny."[/nq]
Oh, bravo... kudos to Mr. Kelly. Emotion: smile
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[nq:2]So the strip within a strip in which they appeared was "Little Arf and Nonny."[/nq]
[nq:1]Oh, bravo... kudos to Mr. Kelly.
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[nq:1]lately i read about the poem "Sigh No More, Ladies..." (From "Much Ado about Nothing"). it aroused my question, i.e., what does the nonny mean here?[/nq]
Nonny and more particularly "Hey, nonny, nonny" (which has the unusual distinction of being a well-known and recognized phrase even though it is composed of nonsense words) is meaningless ... but in the context of the song the suggestio
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[nq:2]Oh, bravo... kudos to Mr. Kelly. Emotion: smile[/nq]
[nq:1]Can someone please explain what I'm missing here, then?[/nq]
"Little Arf
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[nq:2]Can someone please explain what I'm missing here, then?[/nq]
[nq:1]"Little Arf and Nonny" is a pun on the name of an actual (and, at onetime, quite popular) comic strip, ... and who was a relatively large dog barked by saying "Arf!" A picture of them can be seen at http://www.psu.
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