From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcarolcar‧ol1 /ˈkærəl/ (also Christmas carol) noun [countable] RRCAPMa traditional Christmas song
Examples from the Corpus
carol• Two beggar children, arms and legs as thin as sticks, stood beside a brazier singing a carol.• It was all hymns and carols.• As the candles burned down, we sang Christmas carols, and then Papa passed out the presents.• A choir of families, wrapped in woolly hats, overcoats and scarves, were singing carols by a crib.• The presents are unwrapped, the holiday turkey is hash, and the carols have all been sung.• The Carol Album is a carol record with a difference.carolcarol2 verb (carolled, carolling British English, caroled, caroling American English) [intransitive, transitive] literary APMto sing or say something in a happy way ‘Goodbye, ’ carolled Boris happily.→ See Verb tableOrigin carol1 (1500-1600) carol “circular dance with singing” ((13-17 centuries)), from Old French carole, probably from Late Latin choraula “song for a group of singers”, from Greek, from choros ( → CHORUS1) + aulein 'to play a → REED2 instrument' 