banjo
Use Banjo in a sentence
dʒoʊ noun, plural ban·jos, ban·joes.
a musical instrument of the guitar family, having a circular body covered in front with tightly stretched parchment and played with the fingers or a plectrum.
Origin:
1730–40; compare Jamaican English banja, bonjour, bangil, Brazilian Portuguese banza; probably of African orig.; compare Kimbundu mbanza a plucked string instrument
1730–40; compare Jamaican English banja, bonjour, bangil, Brazilian Portuguese banza; probably of African orig.; compare Kimbundu mbanza a plucked string instrument
Related forms
ban·jo·ist, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To banjo
Collins
World English Dictionary
banjo (ˈbændʒəʊ) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n , pl -jos, -joes | |
| 1. | a stringed musical instrument with a long neck (usually fretted) and a circular drumlike body overlaid with parchment, plucked with the fingers or a plectrum |
| 2. | slang any banjo-shaped object, esp a frying pan |
| 3. | slang (Austral), (NZ) a long-handled shovel with a wide blade |
| 4. | (modifier) banjo-shaped: a banjo clock |
| [C18: variant (US Southern pronunciation) of | |
| 'banjoist | |
| —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
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
00:10
Banjo
is always a great word to know.
So is doohickey. Does it mean:
| a gadget; dingus; thingumbob. |
| a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison. |
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
banjo
1764, Amer.Eng., usually described as of African origin, probably akin to Bantu mbanza, an instrument resembling a banjo. The word has been influenced by colloquial pronunciation of bandore (1560s in English), a 16c. stringed instrument like a lute and an ancestor (musically and linguistically) of mandolin;
from Port. bandurra, from L. pandura, from Gk. pandoura "three-stringed instrument." The origin and influence might be the reverse of what is here described.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary
banjo definition
A stringed musical instrument, played by plucking (see strings). The banjo has a percussive sound and is much used in folk music and bluegrass music.
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Example sentences
He learned to play the banjo, and threw that out of the window instead.
Members of the band play the fiddle and banjo in various styles, a key to the age of the tunes.
Jarrell learned the way practically every other fiddler and banjo player did-by ear, at the knee of older musicians.
Nearby Words
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