monochord

[mon-uh-kawrd]

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.

monochord

/ 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

Word History and Origins

Origin of monochord¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of monochord¹

C15: from Old French, from Late Latin, from Greek monokhordon, from _mono- + khordē string

Example Sentences

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

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When you place the bridge exactly in the middle of the monochord, touching the center of the string, each half of the string plays the same note: a tone exactly one octave higher than the string’s fundamental.

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

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

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

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