What does aubade mean?
An aubade is a song or poem about lovers separating at dawn — a genre born of the bittersweet moment when night must end and daytime obligations pull two people apart. The form flourished among the troubadours of medieval Provence, where it was known as the 'alba', typically featuring a watchman who warns the lovers that daybreak is near. In later European poetry, poets such as Shakespeare and Donne wrote celebrated aubades. The word also extends to instrumental music: an aubade is any composition meant to evoke the morning, standing in contrast to the nocturne, which evokes night. The term derives from the Occitan word for dawn and entered English usage in the seventeenth century. Today 'aubade' remains a literary and musical term, prized by critics and composers alike for the way it captures a single, luminous hour when love and loss briefly coexist. It carries a formal, poetic register rather than everyday use.
nounA song or poem about lovers parting at dawn, or more generally a piece of music evoking the morning.
- A poem or song in which lovers lament parting at dawn.
- A piece of music (instrumental) suggestive of morning or daybreak.
"The troubadour's aubade mourned the coming of daybreak, when the lovers must part."
"In the medieval aubade, the watchman warns the lovers that daylight is approaching and they must separate."
"Ravel's 'Aubade' for piano and orchestra shimmers with the light of early morning."
Regular English plural; pronounced identically to the singular except for the final /z/.
"The anthology collects aubades from across seven centuries of European verse."
An aubade is the exact opposite of a serenade — one says goodnight, the other says goodbye.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of aubade
The word 'aubade' comes from the Old French 'aubade', meaning dawn or daybreak, which itself derives from the Latin word 'albus', meaning white — a reference to the whitening light of morning. It entered English in the early seventeenth century, borrowed directly from French. Its closest cognates are the Provençal 'albada' and 'alba', the names the troubadours themselves gave to their dawn-parting songs, making 'aubade' a rare case of a literary genre named after the very hour it describes.
How aubade is actually used
Literary and somewhat formal; encountered chiefly in poetry criticism, music history, and discussions of medieval Provençal literature. Plural is usually 'aubades', though the French-style plural 'aubades' is identical in spelling.
Easily confused with aubade
A serenade is an evening song, typically performed beneath a lover's window at night, whereas an aubade is its morning counterpart, sung or written as the lovers part at dawn.
A nocturne is a musical composition evocative of night, while an aubade is a piece that evokes the morning.