music loftn.
/ˈmjuːzɪk lɒft/, U.S. /ˈmjuzɪk ˌlɔft/, /ˈmjuzɪk ˌlɑft/ Now rare.
A gallery for musicians in a church, hall, etc. Also: = organ loft n. at organ n.1 Compounds 2.
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1698 J. Dunton MS Let. Rawlinson D71 f. 25 Ye Play house..with its Stage, Pitt, boxes, two Galleries, lettices and Musick Loft.
1699 E. Ward London Spy II. ii. 7 The upper-end being divided by a Rail, looks more like a Chancel than a Musick-Loft.
1834 New-Eng. Mag. Jan. 29 The music loft or gallery was in the rear of the pulpit.
1858 P. L. Simmonds Dict. Trade Products Music-loft, a raised balcony or gallery for a band.
1924 R. Kipling in Debits & Credits (1926) 63 I had never seen a Lodge Room better fitted. From mosaicked floor to appropriate ceiling, from..seats to lights, and little carved music-loft at one end, every detail was perfect.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2003; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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n.1698