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theorbo

[ thee-awr-boh ]
/ θiˈɔr boʊ /
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noun, plural the·or·bos.
an obsolete bass lute with two sets of strings attached to separate peg boxes, one above the other, on the neck.
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Origin of theorbo

1595–1605; <Italian teorba, variant of tiorba, special use of Venetian tiorba, variant of tuorba traveling bag ≪ Turkish torba bag; so called from the bag it was carried in

OTHER WORDS FROM theorbo

the·or·bist, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use theorbo in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for theorbo

theorbo
/ (θɪˈɔːbəʊ) /

noun plural -bos
music an obsolete form of the lute, having two necks, one above the other, the second neck carrying a set of unstopped sympathetic bass strings

Derived forms of theorbo

theorbist, noun

Word Origin for theorbo

C17: from Italian teorba, probably from Venetian, variant of tuorba travelling bag, ultimately from Turkish torba bag
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
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