a musical instrument in which air from a bellows is admitted to a set of pipes by means of pins inserted into a revolving barrel; hand organ.
Origin
1765-75
British Dictionary definitions for barrel organ
barrel organ
noun
1.
an instrument consisting of a cylinder turned by a handle and having pins on it that interrupt the air flow to certain pipes, thereby playing any of a number of tunes See also hurdy-gurdy
2.
a similar instrument in which the projections on a rotating barrel pluck a set of strings
Encyclopedia Article for barrel organ
musical instrument in which a pinned barrel turned by a handle raises levers, admitting wind to one or more ranks of organ pipes; the handle simultaneously actuates the bellows. Ten or more tunes can be set on one barrel
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