monochord

American  

[mon-uh-kawrd] / ˈmɒn əˌkɔrd /

noun

1. an acoustical instrument dating from antiquity, consisting of an oblong wooden sounding box, usually with a single string, used for the mathematical determination of musical intervals.

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monochord British  

/ ˈmɒnəʊˌkɔːd /

noun

1. Also called: sonometer.  an instrument employed in acoustic analysis or investigation, consisting usually of one string stretched over a resonator of wood

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Etymology

Origin of monochord

1375–1425; late Middle English monocorde < Medieval Latin monochordum < Greek monóchordon, noun use of neuter of monóchordos with one string. See mono-, chord ¹

Example Sentences

So he gave me a monochord to play, a Pythagorean monochord, and we formed a group with me on this monochord.

From The Guardian

A single taut string — in music referred to as a monochord — can be used to define the entire musical scale; and a tight string, drawn back with great force, can propel objects with deadly speed.

From Washington Post

The album’s epic is “Every Other Sunday,” a monochord drone through its verses that shifts into double time and becomes a hypnotic jam.

From New York Times

Monochord, mon′ō-kord, n. a musical instrument of one chord or string.

From Project Gutenberg

Finally he hit four single strokes on the snare drum, and the monochord noise-jams began, manic and spaced-out at the same time.

From New York Times