Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Ditty

Ditty , noun

[Old English dite, Old French ditié, from Latin dictatum, p. p. neut. of dictare to say often, dictate, compose. See Dictate, transitive verb]

1.
A saying or utterance; especially, one that is short and frequently repeated; a theme.
O, too high ditty for my simple rhyme. — Spenser
2.
A song; a lay; a little poem intended to be sung.
Religious, martial, or civil ditties. — Milton
And to the warbling lute soft ditties sing. — Sandys

Ditty , intransitive verb

To sing; to warble a little tune.
Beasts fain would sing; birds ditty to their notes. — Herbert