metronome
[me-truh-nohm]
- a mechanical or electrical instrument that makes repeated clicking sounds at an adjustable pace, used for marking rhythm, especially in practicing music.
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Origin of metronome
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for metronome
Historical Examples
The metronome indication, found at the beginning of most modern scores.
Essentials in ConductingKarl Wilson Gehrkens
And now the Wyvern swung it back and forth in a metronome sweep.
Storm Over WarlockAndre Norton
The metronome is not expensive to put up; it costs 16 at the most.
The Orchestral ConductorHector Berlioz
The sense of time deserted him when the metronome of heartbeat died.
InstinctGeorge Oliver Smith
The simplest form is the tick-tick-tick of a watch or metronome.
The Principles of English VersificationPaull Franklin Baum
metronome
- 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
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Word Origin
C19: from Greek metron measure + nomos rule, law
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for metronome
n.
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.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper