metronome
[ me-truh-nohm ]
/ ˈmɛ trəˌnoʊm /
noun
a mechanical or electrical instrument that makes repeated clicking sounds at an adjustable pace, used for marking rhythm, especially in practicing music.
RELATED WORDS
alarm, timer, timepiece, clock, hourglass, dial, watch, chronometer, calendar, chronograph, repeater, pendulum, horologe, chronoscope, gnomon, sundial, stopwatch, clepsydra, tattler, timekeeper
Nearby words
- metrologically,
- metrology,
- metrolymphangitis,
- metromalacia,
- metronidazole,
- metronomic,
- metronymic,
- metroparalysis,
- metropathia hemorrhagica,
- metropathy
Origin of metronome
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for metronome
metronome
/ (ˈmɛtrəˌnəʊm) /
noun
a mechanical device which indicates the exact tempo of a piece of music by producing a clicking sound from a pendulum with an adjustable period of swing
Word Origin for metronome
C19: from Greek metron measure + nomos rule, law
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
metronome
mechanical musical time-keeper, 1815, coined in English from comb. form of Greek metron "measure" (see meter (n.2)) + -nomos "regulating," verbal adjective of nemein "to regulate" (see numismatics). The device invented 1815 by Johann Maelzel (1772-1838), German civil engineer and showman. Related: Metronomic.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper