The sound of metal or glass clattering against itself.
He heard the jingle of her keys in the door and turned off the screen.
2
Entertainment, Lifestyle, Music A small piece of metal attached to a musical instrument, such as a tambourine, so as to make a jangling sound when the instrument is played.
Her tambourine didn't come with any jingles attached.
3
Advertising, Broadcasting, Business, Entertainment, Lifestyle, Marketing, Media, Music A memorable short song, or in some cases a snippet of a popular song with its lyrics modified, used for the purposes of advertising a product or service in a TV or radio commercial.
That used-car dealership's jingle has been stuck in my head since we heard that song.
The best of friends become the worst of enemies when Barney makes a hilarious attack ad where he viciously pummels a cardboard cut-out of Homer before special guest star Linda Ronstadt joins the fun to both continue the attack on the helpless Homer stand-in and croon a slanderously accurate, insanely catchy jingle about how “Mr. Plow is a loser/And I think he is a boozer.”2012 June 3, Nathan Rabin, “TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “Mr. Plow” (season 4, episode 9; originally aired 11/19/1992)”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name):
4
A carriage drawn by horses.
They drove in a jingle across Cork while it was still early morning and Stephen finished his sleep in a bedroom of the Victoria Hotel.1916, James Joyce, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Macmillan Press Ltd, page 85:
If all you folks who donate your hard-earned jingle to PETA aren't convinced of your ill-advised ways yet, you should probably check this out.2004, “P.E.T.A.”, in Penn & Teller: Bullshit!, season 2, episode 1:
Etymology The verb, which is older than the noun, is from Middle English gyngle. Onomatopoeic; compare jangle.
1
To make a noise of metal or glass clattering against itself.
The beads jingled as she walked.
I / Perceive 'tis an advantage for a man to vvear ſpurres, / The rovvell of Knight-hood does gingle in the eare of their / Vnderſtanding.1632, Iames Shirley [i.e., James Shirley], Changes: Or, Love in a Maze. A Comedie, […], London: […] G. P. for William Cooke, […], →OCLC, Act I, page 3:
1 more example
He heard then a warm heavy sigh, softer, as she turned over and the loose brass quoits of the bedstead jingled. Must get those settled really.1922 February, James Joyce, “[IV]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC, part II [Odyssey], page 54:
2
To cause to make a noise of metal or glass clattering against itself.
jingling street ballads1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter XV, in The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC: