ac·cor·di·on

[uh-kawr-dee-uhn]
noun Music.
1.
Also called piano accordion. a portable wind instrument having a large bellows for forcing air through small metal reeds, a keyboard for the right hand, and buttons for sounding single bass notes or chords for the left hand.
2.
a similar instrument having single-note buttons instead of a keyboard.
adjective
3.
having a fold or folds like the bellows of an accordion: accordion roof; accordion panel.
verb (used without object)
4.
(of a door, roof, or other covering) to open by folding back or pressing together in the manner of an accordion: The roof of the car accordions to let in sunlight and fresh air.
5.
to fold, crush together, or collapse in the manner of an accordion.
00:10
Accordion is one of our favorite verbs.
So is hornswoggle. Does it mean:
to swindle, cheat, hoodwink, or hoax.
to spend time idly; loaf.
verb (used with object)
6.
to demolish by crushing together lengthwise: The impact accordioned the car beneath the truck.

Origin:
1831; < German, now spelling Akkordion, Akkordeon name under which the instrument was patented in Vienna in 1829; probably < French accord(er) or Italian accord(are) to harmonize (see accord) + French -ion -ion, as in German Orchestrion orchestrion

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To accordion
Collins
World English Dictionary
accordion (əˈkɔːdɪən) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
1.  a portable box-shaped instrument of the reed organ family, consisting of metallic reeds that are made to vibrate by air from a set of bellows controlled by the player's hands. Notes are produced by means of studlike keys
2.  short for piano accordion
 
[C19: from German Akkordion,from Akkord harmony, chord]
 
ac'cordionist
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

accordion
1831, from Ger. Akkordion, from Akkord "musical chord, concord of sounds, be in tune" (cf. It. accordare "to attune an instrument"); ult. from same source as Eng. accord (q.v.) + suffix on analogy of clarion, etc. Invented 1829 by piano-maker Cyrill Demian (1772-1847) of Vienna.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Example sentences
Their favored musical instrument is the accordion, their national dance a form
  of polka.
There is a so-called musical instrument which is variously known as the
  accordion, the concertina, or the harmonica.
Her first instrument was a toy accordion that her brother broke by accidentally
  stepping on it.
He machine-guns his words, pumping his arms as if jammin' on the air accordion.
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT