hurdy-gurdy
[ hur-dee-gur-dee, -gur- ]
noun,plural hur·dy-gur·dies.
a barrel organ or similar musical instrument played by turning a crank.
a lute- or guitar-shaped stringed musical instrument sounded by the revolution against the strings of a rosined wheel turned by a crank.
Origin of hurdy-gurdy
11740–50; variant of Scots hirdy-girdy uproar, influencedby hurly-burly
Other words from hurdy-gurdy
- hurdy-gurdist, hur·dy-gur·dy·ist, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
British Dictionary definitions for hurdy-gurdy
hurdy-gurdy
/ (ˈhɜːdɪˈɡɜːdɪ) /
nounplural -dies
any mechanical musical instrument, such as a barrel organ
a medieval instrument shaped like a viol in which a rosined wheel rotated by a handle sounds the strings
Origin of hurdy-gurdy
1C18: rhyming compound, probably of imitative origin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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