banjo
pronunciation
How to pronounce banjo in British English:
UK [ˈbændʒəʊ]
How to pronounce banjo in American English:
US [ˈbændʒoʊ]
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- Noun:
- a stringed instrument of the guitar family that has long neck and circular body
Word Origin
- banjo
- banjo: [18] The origins of banjo are uncertain, but its likeliest source seems to be bandore, the name of a 16th-century stringed instrument similar to the lute. It has been argued that in the speech of Southern US blacks, amongst whom the banjo originated, bandore became banjo, perhaps under the influence of mbanza, a term for a similar instrument in the Kimbundu language of Northern Angola (although it might be more plausible to suggest that mbanza is the immediate source, altered by English-speakers more familiar with bandore). Bandore itself appears to be a variant of pandore or pandora, which comes from Greek pandoura ‘three-stringed lute’.A more farreaching modification produced mandore, likewise a term for a lutelike instrument. The Italian version of the word, mandola, is familiar in English from its diminutive form, which has given us mandolin [18].=> mandolin
- banjo (n.)
- 1764, American English, usually described as of African origin, probably akin to Bantu mbanza, an instrument resembling a banjo. The word has been influenced by colloquial pronunciation of bandore (1560s in English), a 16c. stringed instrument like a lute and an ancestor (musically and linguistically) of mandolin; from Portuguese bandurra, from Latin pandura, from Greek pandoura "three-stringed instrument." The origin and influence might be the reverse of what is here described.
Example
- 1. I knew I had to get a banjo and bring it with me to china .
- 2. The resort 's website shows images of all three , set to a lively banjo soundtrack .
- 3. Some observers believe that excessive affection for banjo music and sleep deprivation and co-worker grumpiness may be connected .
- 4. The rippling trance of an old-time banjo groove , and doc 's soulful voice layered on top , the sound of merging immigrant cultures of old ireland and africa in appalachia -- it was all so beautiful .
- 5. Then I read about a young man who decided to devote an hour a day learning about something just for fun - including banjo , juggling and astrophysics .