noun

ditty

DIT-ee/ˈdɪti/

A short, simple song or tune.

The singer strums a ukulele and sings a cheerful ditty.

A cheerful adult sings a short simple tune while strumming a small ukulele, two or three small musical notes only floating nearby.

Etymology

Latin dictare supplied the expression ‘a thing dictated,’ which developed into a word for a composition. Ditty once covered many kinds of literary work before narrowing to a short, simple song.

In context

Libranima432:16

… to laugh audaciously in his face, and to sing with his intrepid heedlessness of a child of sixteen, the then popular ditty:—

The Hunchback of Notre-Dame - Hugo (Illustrated Audiobook) Part 2 of 2

More examples

We made up a silly ditty about our cat.
The radio advert's catchy ditty stayed in my head all day.
Grandpa taught us the ditties he sang as a child.

Forms

ditty · ditties

Similar words

song: A broader term, including longer and more complex music.
jingle: Usually written to advertise a product or brand.
lullaby: Specifically intended to soothe someone, usually a child, to sleep.