Definition of "aubade" [au•bade]

• A song or instrumental composition concerning, accompanying, or evoking daybreak. (noun)
• A poem or song of or about lovers separating at dawn. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Oh, guess what I found in my Dictionaire de la Langue Francaise when I looked up "aubade" - a song of the dawn?"
• "The aubade is a poem about lovers parting in sorrow at dawn, and it’s a form dating back to the Elizabethan era, though I suspect this universal act of separation must have been commemorated in song long before then."
• "The serenade, which the French call "aubade", was a gift from above ... as is freedom, as is love."