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hurdy-gurdy
hurdy-gurdy (organistrum, symphonia, chifonie, organica lyra, vielle à roue ‘wheel fiddle’). A portable medieval str. instr., shaped like a viol, dating (in Eur.) from early 12th cent. First str. instr. to which kbd. principle was applied. The instr. is hung round the player's neck or strapped to the body at an angle which lets the keys fall back under their own weight. Bowing action replaced by wheel cranked by a handle. Outer rim of wheel, coated with resin, makes all str. resonate at once, providing a continuous drone like a bagpipe. Fingering is also mechanized, the same str. being stopped at different points to produce required scale. Orig. required 2 players, but during 13th cent. improvements enabled solo perf., thus transforming its use from a cumbersome instr. to one capable of providing dance mus. By 14th cent. there were 6 str. and a kbd. compass of 2 chromatic octaves. Application of the term to any instr. worked by turn of a handle, e.g. barrel-org., street pf., is incorrect. See lira organizzata.
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MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "hurdy-gurdy." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "hurdy-gurdy." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O76-hurdygurdy.html MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "hurdy-gurdy." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O76-hurdygurdy.html |
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hurdy-gurdy
hurdy-gurdy musical instrument with three strings, caused to vibrate by a wooden wheel turned by a crank. Stopping was accomplished by keys that usually affected only one string that played the melody, the others acting as drones. Usually two players were required. First described in the 10th cent., it was widely used in the Middle Ages, and survived in the works of Vivaldi, Haydn, and Mozart. |
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"hurdy-gurdy." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "hurdy-gurdy." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-hurdygur.html "hurdy-gurdy." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-hurdygur.html |
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hurdy-gurdy
hur·dy-gur·dy / ˈhərdē ˌgərdē/ • n. (pl. -dies) a musical instrument with a droning sound played by turning a handle, which is typically attached to a rosined wheel sounding a series of drone strings, with keys worked by the left hand. ∎ inf. a barrel organ. |
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Cite this article
"hurdy-gurdy." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "hurdy-gurdy." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-hurdygurdy.html "hurdy-gurdy." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-hurdygurdy.html |
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hurdy-gurdy
hurdy-gurdy (orig.) rustic instrument having strings producing a drone, with keys to produce the notes of the melody, (later) barrel-organ. XVIII. of imit. orig.
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Cite this article
T. F. HOAD. "hurdy-gurdy." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "hurdy-gurdy." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-hurdygurdy.html T. F. HOAD. "hurdy-gurdy." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-hurdygurdy.html |
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hurdy-gurdy
hurdy-gurdy
•body, embody, Irrawaddy, Kirkcaldy, noddy, Passamaquoddy, shoddy, Soddy, squaddie, toddy, wadi
•secondi, spondee, tondi
•anybody • everybody • busybody
•dogsbody • homebody
•bawdy, gaudy, Geordie, Lordy
•baldy, Garibaldi, Grimaldi
•Maundy
•cloudy, dowdy, Gaudí, howdy, rowdy, Saudi
•Jodie, roadie, toady, tody
•Goldie, mouldy (US moldy), oldie
•broody, foodie, Judy, moody, Rudi, Trudy, Yehudi
•goody, hoodie, woody
•Burundi, Kirundi, Mappa Mundi
•Rushdie
•bloody, buddy, cruddy, cuddy, muddy, nuddy, ruddy, study
•barramundi, bassi profundi, Lundy, undy
•fuddy-duddy • understudy
•Lombardy • nobody • somebody
•organdie (US organdy) • burgundy
•Arcady
•chickadee, Picardy
•malady • melody • Lollardy
•psalmody • Normandy • threnody
•hymnody • jeopardy • chiropody
•parody • rhapsody • prosody
•bastardy • custody
•birdie, curdy, hurdy-gurdy, nerdy, sturdy, vinho verde, wordy
•olde worlde
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Cite this article
"hurdy-gurdy." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "hurdy-gurdy." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-hurdygurdy.html "hurdy-gurdy." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-hurdygurdy.html |
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