hurdy-gurdy
UK/ˈhɜː.diˌɡɜː.di//ˈhɝː.diˌɡɝː.di/
hurdy-gurdy noun: a stringed instrument that produces a droning sound by turning a handle that connects to a wheel that rubs against a rosined string, with a keyboard also used to alter the pitch of the string.
Noun
hurdy-gurdy (plural hurdy-gurdies)
- A stringed instrument that produces a droning sound by turning a handle that connects to a wheel that rubs against a rosined string, with a keyboard also used to alter the pitch of the string.
- Synonyms:
- organistrum, wheel fiddle
- Synonym of street organ, often considered a misnomer.
- He flung open the door, and found there only a ragged boy with a hurdy-gurdy on his back.1956 [1880], Johanna Spyri, Heidi, translation of original by Eileen Hall, page 83
- Synonyms:
- street organ, often considered a misnomer
- A water wheel with radial buckets, driven by the impact of a jet.
- A winch, a windlass.
- A pair of oars, a small mast and sail, pen boards to contain the fish, a bailer, a water jar, a bait knife, a compass, a small wooden winch called a hurdy gurdy, a fish gaff, and the tubs, trawls, floats, and anchors used to set gear was all that was required to equip it.2009, Keith McLaren, A Race for Real Sailors, page 20
Adjective
hurdy-gurdy (not comparable)
- Sounding like the Swedish language.
- “You mean when she read that God-awful poem in her hurdy-gurdy Swedish chef accent?1995, Jones, Tanya, Ophelia O. and the mortgage bandits, →OCLC
- Swedes are often said to sing while they speak. (Listen to Floyd, the Muppet’s Swedish chef, singing “Hurdy Gurdy” and you’ll understand this.)1996, Svensson, Charlotte Rosen, Culture shock!, →OCLC
hurdy-gurdy meaning in Bengali
hurdy-gurdy in Bengali
- হাত ঘোরানো সুরযুক্ত বাদ্যযন্ত্র
Synonyms of hurdy-gurdy
- organistrum
- wheel fiddle
- street organ
- often considered a misnomer
Forms of hurdy-gurdy
| plural | hurdy-gurdies |
|---|
Origin of hurdy-gurdy
Probably onomatopoeic in imitation of the sound produced by the stringed instrument. Compare obsolete hirdy-girdy (“an uproar; noise”). Attested from the 1740s.
Words formed from hurdy-gurdy
Questions about hurdy-gurdy
- What does hurdy-gurdy mean?
- Hurdy-gurdy means a stringed instrument that produces a droning sound by turning a handle that connects to a wheel that rubs against a rosined string, with a keyboard also used to alter the pitch of the string.
- What is hurdy-gurdy in Bengali?
- Hurdy-gurdy in Bengali is হাত ঘোরানো সুরযুক্ত বাদ্যযন্ত্র. See Hurdy-gurdy meaning in Bengali.
- What part of speech is hurdy-gurdy?
- Hurdy-gurdy can be a noun or an adjective.
- How do you pronounce hurdy-gurdy?
- Hurdy-gurdy is pronounced /ˈhɜː.diˌɡɜː.di/ (UK).
- What is the plural of hurdy-gurdy?
- The plural of hurdy-gurdy is hurdy-gurdies.
Words near hurdy-gurdy in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: hurdy-gurdy (page history and authors); hurdy-gurdy (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-hurdy-gurdy.ogg.
Cite this entry: “hurdy-gurdy.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/hurdy-gurdy. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.