Definition
To assume a humble tone.
To not say anything; to keep quiet.
To play a minor part.
Origins
From sing + small (“in a small fashion; (obsolete) in a low tone, softly”).
In Context
- "By all that's good, I muſt myſelf ſing ſmall in her company!—I vvill never meet at hard-edge vvith her— […]"
- "Then shoots through my enjoyment / The one sharp drop of gall: / The host—the cur, the heathen— / On 'Baccy singeth small."
- "Deutschland sleeps: her star has waned. / France, the Thundress whilome, now / Singeth small, with bated breath."