bourdon
Americannoun
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the drone pipe of a bagpipe.
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the drone string of a stringed instrument.
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a low-pitched tone; bass.
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a pipe organ stop of very low pitch.
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the bell in a carillon having the lowest pitch.
noun
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a 16-foot organ stop of the stopped diapason type
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the drone of a bagpipe
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a drone or pedal point in the bass of a harmonized melody
Etymology
Origin of bourdon
1350–1400; Middle English < Middle French; see burden 2
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
At the cathedral, the coffin was brought into the vast chamber and a bourdon bell tolled.
From New York Times • Sep. 1, 2018
French hospital is now open and ready to receive the wounded at the french lycee in rue marcadieux bourdon Update | 1:49 p.m.
From New York Times • Jan. 19, 2010
In regard to the word bourdon, why it has been applied to a pilgrim's staff, it is not easy to guess.
From Divine Comedy, Cary's Translation, Complete by Cary, Henry Francis
It was nearly the same, for presently the windows were raised and their voices came floating out to him, the bourdon of Röselein's organ easily distinguishable.
From Visionaries by Huneker, James
Burdon, Fr. bourdon, meant a staff, especially a pilgrim's staff.
From The Romance of Names by Weekley, Ernest
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
