virelai

Variant of virelay

virelay definition

vir·elay (vir′ə lā′)

noun

any of various French verse forms, popular in the 14th and 15th cent., with only two rhymes per stanza, and a refrain
also virelai vir′·elai′ (-lā′; Fr vir lā′)

Etymology: ME vyrelaye < MFr virelai, prob. altered by assoc. with lai (see lay) < OFr virli, vireli, jingle used as the refrain of a song

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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