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Glite Dictionary
auld lang syne

auld lang syne

3 9.9
A traditional Scottish song often sung at midnight on New Year's Eve to remember old friends and past times
  • noun
  • /ɔld læŋ saɪn/
  • Literature
translation icon : auld lang syne
  • Every New Year's Eve, it is a tradition to end the night by singing Auld Lang Syne with friends.
  • sing Auld Lang Syne
  • play Auld Lang Syne

Jesse also played the Auld Lang Syne from the New Year's episode last weekend on Monday.

Examples

  • Laughter came loudly from some men inside, and our singing group began to sing "Auld Lang Syne" in Scottish accents.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • They all sing "Auld Lang Syne," daughter Janey playing the piano.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • The last song was "Auld Lang Syne."

    Fiction book (1990)

  • "Auld Lang Syne" plays on the car radio.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • I could hardly believe it when they started to play Auld Lang Syne.

    Cynthia (1947)

  • We can hear people singing "Auld Lang Syne" outside.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • Jesse also played the Auld Lang Syne from the New Year's episode last weekend on Monday.

    Theo Von

  • Guy Lombardo's band plays "Auld Lang Syne" on the car radio as the New Year's ball falls in Times Square.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • ♪ ♪ Should old acquaintance be forgot ♪ ♪ And days of auld lang syne?

    Waterloo Bridge (1940)

  • A family long since removed from its Scottish roots noted their special joy when "the whole world greets the New Year with Auld Lang Syne," written by Scottish poet Robert Burns.

    Academic text (1991)

Surface Forms

auld lang syne singular
auld lang synes plural

Morphology

auld + lang + syne

The Scots words 'auld' (old) + 'lang' (long) + 'syne' (since/ago) transparently point to the notion of 'times long past', so a learner who knows the constituents could infer a general meaning of 'old times'. However, the phrase is archaic Scots and is a conventionalized title for a specific New Year's song and ritual use, which is cultural and not fully predictable from the parts.

Etymology

Auld lang syne is an old Scots phrase meaning 'old long since', literally auld 'old', lang 'long', syne 'since'. Robert Burns made the song famous as a way to remember old friends and times, so today people sing auld lang syne at New Year to remember the past.