concertina

[kon-ser-tee-nuh]

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noun

a musical instrument resembling an accordion but having buttonlike keys, hexagonal bellows and ends, and a more limited range.

concertina wire.

verb (used without object), con·cer·ti·naed [kon-ser-tee-nuh d] /ˌkɒn sərˈti nəd/, con·cer·ti·na·ing [kon-ser-tee-nuh-ing] /ˌkɒn sərˈti nə ɪŋ/.

to fold, crush together, or collapse in the manner of a concertina: The car concertinaed when it hit the truck.

verb (used with object), con·cer·ti·naed [kon-ser-tee-nuh d] /ˌkɒn sərˈti nəd/, con·cer·ti·na·ing [kon-ser-tee-nuh-ing] /ˌkɒn sərˈti nə ɪŋ/.

to cause to fold or collapse in the manner of a concertina.

adjective

of, relating to, or resembling a concertina: concertina pleats.

Origin of concertina

apparently coined by the original instrument's inventor, English instrument-maker Charles Wheatstone (1802–75), who patented it in 1829; cf. concertino, seraphina a similar instrument

Related formscon·cer·ti·nist, noun

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

Related Words for concertina

melodeon, squeezebox

Examples from the Web for concertina

Contemporary Examples of concertina

At a meeting of prominent Zabul women, she casually mentioned that her office needed a higher fence and concertina wire.
Afghan Women's Uncertain Future
Ann Marlowe
December 3, 2010
There is concertina barbed wire going up on parts of the border between Bangladesh and India.
Al Gore Warms Up
Lloyd Grove
December 9, 2009

Historical Examples of concertina

It was Uncle Ben who played the concertina at the door of his hut in the evening.
Roden's Corner
Henry Seton Merriman
The whole thing's like a concertina, and some one jigging it!
The Eldest Son (Second Series Plays)
John Galsworthy
A youth plays the concertina; there is laughter, then an abrupt silence.
The Mob (Third Series Plays)
John Galsworthy
He thinks he'll just swap one of them overcoats for a concertina.
Colonel Crockett's Co-operative Christmas
Rupert Hughes
When the man with the concertina came into the light and I saw him clearly I started.
Novel Notes
Jerome K. Jerome

British Dictionary definitions for concertina

concertina

noun

a small hexagonal musical instrument of the reed organ family in which metallic reeds are vibrated by air from a set of bellows operated by the player's hands. Notes are produced by pressing buttons

verb -nas, -naing or -naed

(intr) to collapse or fold up like a concertina

Derived Formsconcertinist, noun

Word Origin for concertina

C19: concert + -ina

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 concertina

1835, from concert + fem. ending -ina. Portable musical instrument invented 1829 by Sir Charles Wheatstone. Concertina wire attested by 1917, so called from similarity to the musical instrument.