balalaika

American  

[bal-uh-lahy-kuh] / ˌbæl əˈlaɪ kə /

noun

1. a Russian musical instrument having a triangular body and a neck like that of a guitar.

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balalaika British  

/ ˌbæləˈlaɪkə /

noun

1. a plucked musical instrument, usually having a triangular body and three strings: used chiefly for Russian folk music

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Etymology

Origin of balalaika

1780–90; < Russian balaláĭka, equivalent to balalaĭ-, probably originally a v. base, akin to balabólitʾ, balákatʾ chatter, talk nonsense (compare Russian dial., Ukrainian balabáĭka balalaika), expressive derivatives of Slavic *bay- speak, tell, akin to fate, -phasia + -ka noun suffix

Example Sentences

The letters showed that Navalny asked for an eclectic range of items, including, variously, a bottle of moonshine, a balalaika, a staff, two pouches of cheap tobacco, a kimono and a black belt.

From Reuters

Despite famously composing much of Hounds of Love on a synthesizer - the Fairlight CMI - she melded those electronic sounds with acoustic folk instruments, such as balalaikas, bouzoukis and didgeridoos.

From BBC

The walls were painted with Soviet-era cartoons — a wolf with an accordion, a donkey with a balalaika, and a bear in a vyshyvanka, a traditional Ukrainian costume.

From New York Times

There were Russian balalaika groups, political advertisers, choral singers and, on a recent Sunday, a spoken-word Shakespeare sonnet.

From Washington Post

“I got my Greek bouzouki and my Irish bouzouki, but I didn’t get my Russian balalaika or my Turkish oud,” he said.

From New York Times