Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Hurdy-gurdy \Hur"dy-gur`dy\, n. [Prob. of imitative origin.]
A stringled instrument, lutelike in shape, in which the sound is produced by the friction of a wheel turned by a crank at the end, instead of by a bow, two of the strings being tuned as drones, while two or more, tuned in unison, are modulated by keys.
In California, a water wheel with radial buckets, driven by the impact of a jet.
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
1749, perhaps imitative of its sound and influenced by c.1500 hirdy-girdy "uproar, confusion."
Wiktionary
a. (context jocular English) Sounding like the Swedish language. n. 1 (qualifier: music) A medieval stringed instrument which has a droning sound. One hand turns a handle connected to a wheel which vibrates the strings, while the other hand plays a keyboard to alter the pitch. 2 (qualifier: music) A barrel organ. 3 (context US California English) A water wheel with radial buckets, driven by the impact of a jet.
Wikipedia
The hurdy-gurdy is a stringed instrument that produces sound by a crank-turned, rosined wheel rubbing against the strings. The wheel functions much like a violin bow, and single notes played on the instrument sound similar to those of a violin. Melodies are played on a keyboard that presses tangents—small wedges, typically made of wood—against one or more of the strings to change their pitch. Like most other acoustic stringed instruments, it has a sound board to make the vibration of the strings audible.
Most hurdy-gurdies have multiple drone strings, which give a constant pitch accompaniment to the melody, resulting in a sound similar to that of bagpipes. For this reason, the hurdy-gurdy is often used interchangeably or along with bagpipes, particularly in Occitan, Catalan, Sardinian, Cajun French and contemporary Galician and Hungarian folk music.
Many folk music festivals in Europe feature music groups with hurdy-gurdy players. The most famous has been held since 1976 at Saint-Chartier in the Indre département in Central France. In 2009, it relocated nearby to the Château d'Ars at La Châtre, where it continues to take place during the week nearest July 14 ( Bastille Day).
The hurdy-gurdy is a musical instrument. It can also refer to:
- The Hurdy Gurdy, a mid-1760s symphony in E flat written by Joseph Schmitt
- The Hurdy-Gurdy, a 1902 book by Laura E. Richards
- Hurdy-gurdy, a 1905 painting by Pablo Picasso
- The Hurdy-Gurdy, a 1909 book of prose, poetry and drama by Elena Guro
- Hurdy Gurdy, a 1929 cartoon by Walter Lantz for the Oswald the Lucky Rabbit shorts
- Hurdy Gurdy, a 1929 film featuring Ann Brody and Max Davidson
- The Hurdy Gurdy, a 1930 play by Andrei Platonov
- Hurdy-Gurdy, a 1944 book of poetry by Nancy Price
- The Hurdy-Gurdy , a 1955 film by Alekos Sakellarios
- Hurdy Gurdy (band), a rock band active in the 1960s
- "Hurdy Gurdy", track 6 on Disc 2 by Malcolm Clarke for the 1979 BBC Radiophonic Workshop – 21
- Herdy Gerdy, a 2002 game for the PlayStation 2
- "Hurdy Gurdy", track 61 on Disc 1 by Malcolm Clarke from the 2008 compilation BBC Radiophonic Workshop – A Retrospective
Usage examples of "hurdy-gurdy".
The Pope would die and the circus would actually begin with the tawdry tinkle of the hurdy-gurdy and monkeys on chains, the trumpet fanfare of a Fellini movie and the clowns and all the freaks and aerialists joining hands, dancing, capering across the screen.
Two persons playing the organistrum, a stringed instrument vibrated by means of a circular bow or wheel, like the hurdy-gurdy.
There is a sour rhythm in the fellow and he will beat a pretty syncopation on them if the hurdy-gurdy will but stick to marching time.
The moved on through the clutter of theremins, encore banjoes, and hurdy-gurdies.
This introduction to the third act recalls the introduction to the first, which also begins with the hymnlike phrase, and sets the key-note of pathos which is sounded at every dramatic climax, though pages of hurdy-gurdy tune and unmeaning music intervene.
The instruments were most probably lutes, viols, flute, oboe, and possibly bag-pipe, hurdy-gurdy and little organ.
The moved on through the clutter of theremins, encore banjoes, and hurdy-gurdies.
But asking me to bodyguard is like asking an opera diva to sing on the corner with a hurdy-gurdy man.
Vinegar-sellers with casks on wheels, musicians with bagpipes and hurdy-gurdies, cake-sellers with broad flat baskets of steaming confections that made Jack light in the head.
From the windows of the dining hall at the far end of the terrace, thousands of lamps threw moving shadows on the gravel and the muted riot of hautboys and viols could be detected from that direction, vying with the jangle of hurdy-gurdies in the streets, drunken celebration, and a whore's shrill laughter.
He liked anything musical church bells, hurdy-gurdies, the chants of the street vendors selling hot crabcakes.
There were a couple of fiddles, another lute, a guitar, a shepherd's pipe and a flute, a mandolin, a hurdy-gurdy, a trumpet and a horn, three harps of various sizes, plus several things she couldn't identify.