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definitions

steam organ

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noun

calliope(def 1).

Origin of steam organ

First recorded in 1785–95
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for steam organ

organ, calliope

Examples from the Web for steam organ

Historical Examples of steam organ

  • They could hear above the thud-thud of the gorged floodgates, shrieks in two keys as monotonous as a steam-organ.

  • And the artist who sat inside the steam-organ wagon became so sleepy that his hand slipped and struck one of the organ pedals.

    Through Welsh Doorways

    Jeannette Augustus Marks

  • It was a very beautiful meal, and the far-off music of the steam-organ added the last touch of festivity to the scene.

British Dictionary definitions for steam organ

steam organ

noun

a type of organ powered by steam, once common at fairgrounds, in which the pipes are sounded either by a keyboard or in a sequence determined by a moving punched cardUS name: calliope
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