hurdy-gurdy
/ˈhəːdɪˌɡəːdi
/noun (plural hurdy-gurdies)
1A musical instrument with a droning sound played by turning a handle, which is typically attached to a rosined wheel sounding a series of drone strings, with keys worked by the left hand.Leopold Mozart, when he wasn't raising his son Wolfgang Amadeus, wrote several concert works for unusual instruments, including the bagpipes and the hurdy-gurdy....
- Traditional folk instruments include the bandura, a variety of flutes, various fiddles and basses, drums and rattles, the bagpipe, the hurdy-gurdy, the Jew's harp, and the hammered dulcimer.
- A dance that probably originated in the Auvergne, where it was accompanied by such folk instruments as the musette or the hurdy-gurdy.
1.1 informal A barrel organ.
Origin
Mid 18th century: probably imitative of the sound of the instrument.