1965–70; Irish Gaelic bodhrán, from Middle Irish bodrán, from bodar “deafening, deaf”
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A nearby human would throb like a bodhran as subsonic waves bounced around her chest.
From The Guardian • Jan. 19, 2017
Inspired by the museum’s historic collection of percussion instruments and by the techniques used to play the bodhran, a traditional Irish frame drum, Mr. Dennehy’s “Surface Tension” incorporated an unusually wide spectrum of pitches.
From New York Times • Feb. 11, 2016
Flautist Jean-Michel Veillon represents the Breton strand of Celtic culture, and John Joe Kelly is a maestro of the bodhran, the traditional Irish frame drum.
From Washington Post • Mar. 12, 2015
The lush harmonies, intricate acoustic arrangements — fiddle, guitar, banjo, bodhran, whistles and more — make this far from standard fare.
From Washington Times • Nov. 24, 2014
They share the beat, tapping it on the bodhran, and slip in counterpoint from fiddle or Celtic harp.
From New York Times • Mar. 14, 2010
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
