hurdy-gurdy

English
WOTD – 16 April 2008
A stringed hurdy-gurdy

Etymology

Probably onomatopoeic in imitation of the sound produced by the stringed instrument.[1] Compare obsolete hirdy-girdy (“an uproar; noise”).[2] Attested from the 1740s.[1][2]

Pronunciation
  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈhɜː.diˌɡɜː.di/, /ˌhɜː.diˈɡɜː.di/
  • (US) IPA(key): /ˈhɝː.diˌɡɝː.di/, /ˌhɝː.diˈɡɝː.di/
  • Audio (US)(file)
    ,
    Audio (US)(file)

Noun

hurdy-gurdy (plural hurdy-gurdies)

  1. (music) A stringed instrument that produces a droning sound by turning a handle that connects to a wheel that rubs against a rosined string, with a keyboard also used to alter the pitch of the string.
  2. (music) Synonym of street organ, often considered a misnomer.
    • 1956 [1880], Johanna Spyri, Heidi, translation of original by Eileen Hall, page 83:
      He flung open the door, and found there only a ragged boy with a hurdy-gurdy on his back.
  3. (US, California) A water wheel with radial buckets, driven by the impact of a jet.
  4. (fishing, sailing) A winch, a windlass.
    • 2009, Keith McLaren, A Race for Real Sailors‎, page 20:
      A pair of oars, a small mast and sail, pen boards to contain the fish, a bailer, a water jar, a bait knife, a compass, a small wooden winch called a hurdy gurdy, a fish gaff, and the tubs, trawls, floats, and anchors used to set gear was all that was required to equip it.

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations
barrel organ — see barrel organ

Adjective

hurdy-gurdy (not comparable)

  1. (humorous) Sounding like the Swedish language.
    • 1995, Jones, Tanya, Ophelia O. and the mortgage bandits‎, →OCLC:
      “You mean when she read that God-awful poem in her hurdy-gurdy Swedish chef accent?
    • 1996, Svensson, Charlotte Rosen, Culture shock!‎, →OCLC:
      Swedes are often said to sing while they speak. (Listen to Floyd, the Muppet’s Swedish chef, singing “Hurdy Gurdy” and you’ll understand this.)
    • 2009, The great big bumper book of marmite‎, →OCLC:
      Just don’t do what the Swedish chef from The Muppet Show does and start playing tennis with the meatballs, or start waving your cooking utensils about the kitchen and shouting ‘hurdy gurdy’ at your mates.

See also
  • Appendix:Glossary of chordophones
  • viellist (one who plays a hurdy-gurdy)

References
  1. “hurdy-gurdy”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
  2. Oxford English Dictionary, 1884–1928, and First Supplement, 1933.
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