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banjo
(ban′jō′)
☆
a stringed musical instrument having a long neck and a circular body covered on top with tightly stretched skin: the strings, usually four or five, are plucked with the fingers or a plectrum
Origin: of Afr orig., prob. akin to Kimbundu (a Bantu language) mbanza, an instrument resembling the banjo
Related Forms:
- banjoist noun
See banjo in American Heritage Dictionary 4
noun pl. ban·jos or ban·joes
A usually fretted stringed instrument having a narrow neck and a hollow circular body with a covering of plastic or stretched skin on which the bridge rests. The modern American banjo typically has four strings and often a short fifth string plucked with the thumb.
Origin:
Origin: Akin to Jamaican English banja, fiddle
Origin: ; probably akin to Kimbundu
Origin: and Tshiluba mbanza, a plucked stringed instrument
.Related Forms:
- banˈjo·ist noun
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