mandolin

[ man-dl-in, man-dl-in ]

/ ˈmæn dl ɪn, ˌmæn dlˈɪn /

noun

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

Nearby words

mandinka, mandioca, mandir, mandira, mandola, mandolin, mandorla, mandragora, mandrake, mandrel, mandrill

Origin of mandolin

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

Related forms

man·do·lin·ist, noun

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

Examples from the Web for mandolin

You will find that the cushion business, and the mandolin business, and all that sort of thing, do not go in real life.
The Young Man and the World|Albert J. Beveridge
He owned a mandolin, called the “potato bug”—a name suggested by the inlaid bowl.
The Great White Tribe in Filipinia|Paul T. Gilbert
In their hands a mandolin on a moonlit night under a balcony melted away all opposition.
Post-Impressions|Simeon Strunsky
Against the wall stood a sofa, smothered in cushions, and on it a mandolin with a blue ribbon.
Mammon and Co.|E. F. Benson

And how about mentioning that youve made the Banjo and Mandolin Club?
Quarter-Back Bates|Ralph Henry Barbour

British Dictionary definitions for mandolin

mandolin

mandoline

/ (ˌmændəˈlɪn) /

noun

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

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

Derived Forms

mandolinist, noun

Word Origin for mandolin

C18: via French from Italian mandolino, diminutive of mandora lute, ultimately from Greek pandoura musical instrument with three strings

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