hurdy-gurdy

[ hur-dee-gur-dee, -gur- ]

noun

, plural hur·dy-gur·dies.

1. a barrel organ or similar musical instrument played by turning a crank.
2. a lute- or guitar-shaped stringed musical instrument sounded by the revolution against the strings of a rosined wheel turned by a crank.

hurdy-gurdy

/ ˈhɜːdɪˈɡɜːdɪ /

noun

1. any mechanical musical instrument, such as a barrel organ
2. a medieval instrument shaped like a viol in which a rosined wheel rotated by a handle sounds the strings

Other Words From

• hurdy-gurdist hurdy-gurdy·ist noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of hurdy-gurdy¹

1740–50; variant of Scots hirdy-girdy uproar, influencedby hurly-burly

Word History and Origins

Origin of hurdy-gurdy¹

C18: rhyming compound, probably of imitative origin

Example Sentences

Tonio will take to the hurdy-gurdy again; him an' Puck should win money too.

From Project Gutenberg

The old Italian organ-grinder doing his best to please you with his wheezy hurdy-gurdy is not just an old organ-grinder.

From Project Gutenberg

Pisistratus, by the help of Latin comprehending that the Savoyard says that the mice are alive, and the hurdy-gurdy is not.

From Project Gutenberg

My uncle sold a watch, and I played on the hurdy-gurdy, by way of making myself popular.

From Project Gutenberg

Among other things lying near her Dot now noticed a hurdy-gurdy, such as she had seen musicians carrying around the streets.

From Project Gutenberg