banjo

[ ban-joh ]

/ ˈbæn dʒoʊ /

noun, plural ban·jos, ban·joes.

a musical instrument of the guitar family, having a circular body covered in front with tightly stretched parchment and played with the fingers or a plectrum.

Origin of banjo

1730–40; compare Jamaican English banja, bonjour, bangil, Brazilian Portuguese banza; probably of African orig.; compare Kimbundu mbanza a plucked string instrument

Related formsban·jo·ist, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for banjo

Well someone gave that kid a banjo and a Wi-Fi connection and told him to go to town.
Michael Cera’s ‘true that’ Review: So Melancholy, So Cool, So Damn Long|Amy Zimmerman|August 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In her down time, she plays the banjo in an all-girl band, Loose Gravel.
Could Michelle Obama Run for the U.S. Senate?|Eleanor Clift|March 31, 2013|DAILY BEAST
When he was 11, his father built him a banjo, at first fashioning the head out of groundhog hide.
Doc Watson, a Legendary Picker, Was Traditional Music’s Best Ambassador|Malcolm Jones|May 30, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Before Earl Scruggs, banjo players were not front men, but they were funny.
Earl Scruggs, Dead at 88, Pioneered a Banjo Style Imitated but Never Equaled|Malcolm Jones|March 29, 2012|DAILY BEAST

In a tradition that goes back to the days of the minstrel show, the banjo player doubled as a comedian.
Earl Scruggs, Dead at 88, Pioneered a Banjo Style Imitated but Never Equaled|Malcolm Jones|March 29, 2012|DAILY BEAST
He was quite a musician, and touched the harmonicon, banjo and accordeon with skill and feeling.
Caxton's Book: A Collection of Essays, Poems, Tales, and Sketches.|W. H. Rhodes
Banjo waited until they were ready to begin their slow march to the ranch, when he led his little horse forward.
The Rustler of Wind River|G. W. Ogden
“Maybe she needs a change—a change of air,” Banjo suggested, with what vague hope only himself could tell.
The Rustler of Wind River|G. W. Ogden
During his lifetime he had specialized in making tall case and banjo clocks.
Early American Scientific Instruments and Their Makers|Silvio A. Bedini
The banjo laughs louder than all, and the great apartment is full of uproar, and mirth, and dance.
Mohun, or, The Last Days of Lee and his Paladins|John Esten Cooke

British Dictionary definitions for banjo

banjo

/ (ˈbændʒəʊ) /

noun plural -jos or -joes

a stringed musical instrument with a long neck (usually fretted) and a circular drumlike body overlaid with parchment, plucked with the fingers or a plectrum

slang any banjo-shaped object, esp a frying pan

Australian and NZ slang a long-handled shovel with a wide blade

(modifier) banjo-shapeda banjo clock

Derived Formsbanjoist, noun

Word Origin for banjo

C18: variant (US Southern pronunciation) of bandore

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for banjo

banjo

1764, American English, usually described as of African origin, probably akin to Bantu mbanza, an instrument resembling a banjo. The word has been influenced by colloquial pronunciation of bandore (1560s in English), a 16c. stringed instrument like a lute and an ancestor (musically and linguistically) of mandolin; from Portuguese bandurra, from Latin pandura, from Greek pandoura "three-stringed instrument." The origin and influence might be the reverse of what is here described.

Culture definitions for banjo

banjo

A stringed musical instrument, played by plucking (see strings). The banjo has a percussive sound and is much used in folk music and bluegrass music.

banjo

noun, plural ban·jos, ban·joes.

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Nearby words

Origin of banjo

Examples from the Web for banjo

banjo

noun plural -jos or -joes

Word Origin for banjo

banjo

banjo