monochord

American

[mon-uh-kawrd] / ˈmɒn əˌkɔrd /

noun

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.

monochord British

/ ˈmɒnəʊˌkɔːd /

noun

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

"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

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

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

She plucked twangy notes with a crow's quill on a monochord.

From Time Magazine Archive

By moving a sliding bridge up and down the monochord, Pythagoras changed the notes that the device played.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife

Putting the bridge on the monochord so it touches the string changes the notes that are played.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife

One day, according to legend, Pythagoras was toying with a monochord, a box with a string on it.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife

The harmony of the monochord was the harmony of mathematics—and the harmony of the universe.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023