mandolin

American  

[man-dl-in, man-dl-in] / ˈmæn dl ɪn, ˌmæn dlˈɪn /

noun

1. a musical instrument with a pear-shaped wooden body and a fretted neck.

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mandolin British  

/ ˌmændəˈlɪn /

noun

1. a plucked stringed instrument related to the lute, having four pairs of strings tuned in ascending fifths stretched over a small light body with a fretted fingerboard. It is usually played with a plectrum, long notes being sustained by the tremolo

2. a vegetable slicer consisting of a flat stainless-steel frame with adjustable cutting blades

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Other Word Forms

• mandolinist noun

Etymology

Origin of mandolin

1700–10; < Italian mandolino, diminutive of mandola, variant of mandora, alteration of pandora bandore

Example Sentences

Rima Fand’s pleasant, folk-tinged score is illustrative rather than striking; the accompanying ensemble of mandolin, string quartet and bass, led from the piano by Mila Henry, plays a lot of ostinatos.

From The Wall Street Journal

In its rules, the academy states that traditional country recordings, among other things, employ “traditional country instrumentation such as acoustic guitar, steel guitar, fiddle, banjo, mandolin, piano, electric guitar and live drums.”

From Los Angeles Times

After dinner the men would sing, accompanied by tin whistles and the bittersweet pluck of mandolin strings.

From Literature

In my final week, a new activity leader began staging music concerts and playing the mandolin in the lounges, to the great joy of some residents.

From BBC

A former child prodigy on the mandolin, Hull opened the evening flexing her Berklee-trained chops in a series of lickety-split bluegrass numbers that got early arrivers whistling with approval.

From Los Angeles Times