ukulele
pronunciation
How to pronounce ukulele in British English:
UK [ˌju:kəˈleɪli]
How to pronounce ukulele in American English:
US [ˌjukəˈleli, ˌukə-]
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- Noun:
- a small guitar having four strings
Word Origin
- ukulele (n.)
- 1896, from Hawaiian 'ukulele, literally "leaping flea," from 'uku "louse, flea" + lele "to fly, jump, leap." Noted earlier in English as the Hawaiian word for "flea." The instrument so called from the rapid motion of the fingers in playing it. It developed from a Portuguese instrument introduced to the islands c. 1879.
Example
- 1. This does not include time spent listening to the mandolin , the fiddle or the ukulele .
- 2. In tahiti , the teacher told me , every home has a guitar and ukulele in the foyer , and children learn about music from a very early age by watching and listening to their parents .