hurdy-gurdy
[
hur
-dee-
gur
-dee, -gur-]
/ˈhɜr diˈgɜr di, -ˌgɜr-/
noun
,
plural
hurdy-gurdies.
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.
Origin
1740-50;
variant of
Scots
hirdy-girdy
uproar, influencedby
hurly-burly
Related forms
hurdy-gurdist,
hurdy-gurdyist,
noun
British Dictionary definitions for
hurdy-gurdy
hurdy-gurdy
/
ˈhɜːdɪˈɡɜːdɪ
/
noun
(
pl
)
-dies
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
Word Origin
C18: rhyming compound, probably of imitative origin
Word Origin and History for
hurdy-gurdy
1749, perhaps imitative of its sound and influenced by c.1500
hirdy-girdy
"uproar, confusion."