Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.

Dulcimer

Definition: Dulcimer

Dulcimer

Noun

1. A stringed instrument used in American folk music; an elliptical body and a fretted fingerboard and three strings.

2. A trapezoidal zither whose metal strings are struck with light hammers.

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

Date "dulcimer" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1321. (references)

Etymology: Dulcimer \Dul"ci*mer\, noun. [Italian dolcemele,r Spanish dulcemele, from the Latin expression dulcis sweet melos song, melody, Greek; compare to Old French doulcemele. See Dulcet, and Melody.]. (Websters 1913)


Specialty Definition: Dulcimer

DomainDefinition

Bible

Dulcimer (Heb. sumphoniah), a musical instrument mentioned in Dan. 3:5, 15, along with other instruments there named, as sounded before the golden image. It was not a Jewish instrument. In the margin of the Revised Version it is styled the "bag-pipe." Luther translated it "lute," and Grotius the "crooked trumpet." It is probable that it was introduced into Babylon by some Greek or Western-Asiatic musician. Some Rabbinical commentators render it by "organ," the well-known instrument composed of a series of pipes, others by "lyre." The most probable interpretation is that it was a bag-pipe similar to the zampagna of Southern Europe. Source: Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary.

Dream Interpretation

To dream of a dulcimer, denotes that the highest wishes in life will be attained by exalted qualities of mind. To women, this is significant of a life free from those petty jealousies which usually make women unhappy. Source: Ten Thousand Dreams Interpreted ....

Literature

Dulcimer (Italian dolcimello), according to Bishop (Musical Dictionary, p. 45), is "a triangular chest strung with wires, which are struck with a little rod held in each hand;" but the word "symphonia," translated dulcimer in Daniel iii. 5, was a species of bagpipe. Fürst deduces it from the Hebrew smpn (a pipe).
"The sound of cornet, flute, harp, sackbut psaltery, [symphony] or dulcimer, and all kinds of music." - Dan. iii. 5. Source: Brewer's Dictionary.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Specialty Definition: Dulcimer

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Dulcimer is the name given to two types of stringed musical instrument, which either struck or plucked:

The instruments are quite different, but are both members of the zither family of instruments.

This article deals with the Appalachian dulcimer; for the other instrument, see hammered dulcimer.

The Appalachian dulcimer

The Appalachian dulcimer is a fretted string instrument with three or four strings. The body extends the length of the fingerboard and traditionally has an hourglass shape. A traditional way to play the instrument is to lay it flat on the lap and pluck or strum the strings with one hand, while fretting with the other. In practice, a wide variety of playing styles are used.

When four strings are used, the first 2 strings are placed close together and tuned the same. This can be used to emphasize the melody, while the other two strings are used as drone strings.

The frets of the Appalachian dulcimer are arranged in a diatonic scale.

It is widely used in the American Bluegrass music tradition. This instrument first appeared in the early 1800s in the southern Appalachian Mountains, and is thus also called a mountain dulcimer.

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Dulcimer."

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Crosswords: Dulcimer

English words defined with "dulcimer": Citole. (references)
Non-English Usage: "Dulcimer" is also a word in the following language with the English translation in parentheses.

Spanish (dulcimer).

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Commercial Usage: Dulcimer

DomainTitle

Books

  • Barley Break: An Elizabethan Songbook With Arrangements for the Appalachian Dulcimer (reference)

  • Dulcimer Book (reference)

  • First Lessons Dulcimer (reference)

  • Hammered Dulcimer (reference)

  • Mel Bay's Complete Dulcimer Handbook (reference)

    (more book examples)

  

Theater & Movies

  • Learning Mountain Dulcimer (reference)

  • The Hammer Dulcimer (reference)

  • Walt Michael's Hammer Dulcimer- video#2 Celtic Tunes for Hammer Dulcimer (reference)

    (more DVD examples; more video examples)

  

Music

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Image Slideshow: Dulcimer

Photos:
Dulcimer

More pictures...

Computer Images:
Dulcimer

More pictures...

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Photo Album: Dulcimer

ThumbnailDescription & Credit

Jean Ritchie, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing right, holding dulcimer. Credit: Library of Congress.

Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits.

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Sounds Captioned with "Dulcimer".

PlayCaption
Clarinet solo over a string drone with a hammered dulcimer at the end.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Familiar Quotations: Dulcimer

AuthorQuotation

Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Experience, like a pale musician, holds a dulcimer of patience in his hand.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

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Usage Frequency: Dulcimer

"Dulcimer" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 100.00% of the time. "Dulcimer" is used about 18 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted)
Parts of SpeechPercentUsage per
100 Million Words
Rank in English
Noun (singular)100%1882,615

Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.

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Expression: Dulcimer

Expression using "dulcimer": cymbalon or dulcimer. Additional references.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Frequency of Internet Keywords: Dulcimer

The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com.
 
ExpressionFrequency
per Day
ExpressionFrequency
per Day

dulcimer

292

dulcimer mountain tab

5

hammered dulcimer

70

dulcimer sheet music

4

hammer dulcimer

57

dulcimer maker

4

mountain dulcimer

48

mountain dulcimer kit

4

dulcimer music

30

dulcimer everything

4

dulcimer kit

19

dulcimer history

4

dulcimer tab

17

hammered dulcimer kit

4

dulcimer festival

11

dulcimer lady winnie

4

dulcimer hammer musician

11

dulcimer free tab

4

dulcimer tablature

10

chord dulcimer

3

dulcimer plan

9

dulcimer news player

3

dulcimer tuning

7

dulcimer free music

3

mountain dulcimer music

7

hammered dulcimer music

3

play dulcimer

7

chinese dulcimer

3

appalachian dulcimer

6

black dulcimer mountain

3

buy dulcimer

6

dulcimer mountain plan

3

dulcimer club

6

hammer dulcimer kit

3

dulcimer mcspadden

5

dulcimer hammer used

2

dulcimer string

5

11 12 dulcimer hammer

2

case dulcimer

5

dulcimer hammer workshop

2

dulcimer free music sheet

5

dulcimer making

2
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Modern Translation: Dulcimer

Language Translations for "dulcimer"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses.

Albanian

  

xinge, këmbal, çembalo. (various references)

   

Arabic 

  

‏سنطور آلة موسيقية قديمة, ‏صنج, ‏القانون آله وترية. (various references)

   

Cornish

  

cythol. (various references)

   

Czech

  

hudební nástroj (clavecin, clavichord, clavier, ukulele). (various references)

   

Danish

  

cymbale (cymbalom, cymbalon or dulcimer, czimbal, czimbalo, czimbalom, czimbalon). (various references)

   

Dutch

  

hakkebord (cymbalom, cymbalon or dulcimer, czimbal, czimbalo, czimbalom, czimbalon), cimbalon (cymbalom, cymbalon or dulcimer, czimbal, czimbalo, czimbalom, czimbalon). (various references)

   

French

  

tympanon. (various references)

   

German

  

hackbrett (chopping board). (various references)

   

Greek 

  

είδοσ άρπασ. (various references)

   

Hungarian

  

cimbalom (cymbal, cymbalo, psaltery). (various references)

   

Italian

  

salterio (psalter). (various references)

   

Manx

  

kishtey bing. (various references)

   

Pig Latin

  

ulcimerday

   

Portuguese

  

xilofone (xylophone), saltério (psaltery). (various references)

   

Romanian

  

ţambal. (various references)

   

Russian 

  

цимбалы (cembalo). (various references)

   

Serbo-Croatian

  

cimbalo. (various references)

   

Spanish

  

dulcimer, dulcémele. (various references)

   

Swedish

  

cymbal (cymbal). (various references)

   

Turkish

  

santur (psaltery), gayda türü bir çalgı. (various references)

   

Ukrainian

  

цимбали (cembalo, cymbalo). (various references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references.

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Ancestral Language Translations: Dulcimer

LanguagePeriodTranslations
Greek700 BCE-300 CE

melos. (various references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

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Bible Trace: Dulcimer

LanguageDateSourceDaniel Chapter 3, Verse 5
Greek (transliterated)250 BCSeptuagintOtan akoushte thV fwnhV thV salpiggoV suriggoV kai kiqaraV sambukhV kai yalthriou sumfwniaV kai pantoV genouV mousikwn pesonteV proskunhsate th eikoni th crush hn esthse naboucodonosor basileuV
Latin405VulgateIn hora qua audieritis sonitum tubae et fistulae et citharae sambucae et psalterii et symphoniae et universi generis musicorum cadentes adorate statuam auream quam constituit Nabuchodonosor rex
Middle English1395WyclifIn the hour in whiche ye shuln heere the sown of trumpe, and pipe, and harpe, sambuke, sautrie, and symfonie, and al kynde of musikis, ye fallynge wirshipe the golden ymage, whom Nabugodonosor, kyng, ordeynyde.
Jacobean English1611King JamesThat at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up:
Victorian English1833WebsterThat at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up.
Basic English1964OgdenThat when the sound of the horn, pipe, harp, trigon, psaltery, bagpipe, and all sorts of instruments, comes to your ears, you are to go down on your faces in worship before the image of gold which Nebuchadnezzar the king has put up:

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Matched Bible Translations: Dulcimer

LanguageDaniel Chapter 3, Verse 5
CebuanoNga sa takna kamo makadungog sa tingog sa trompeta, flauta, alpa, sacabuche, salterio, dulcemele, ug sa tanang matang sa tulonggon, humapa kamo ug simbaha ang larawan nga bulawan nga gipatindog ni Nabucodonosor nga hari;
Croatianu èasu kad zaèujete zvuke roga, frule, citre, sambuke, psaltira, gajda i svakovrsnih drugih glazbala, bacite se na tlo i poklonite se zlatnome kipu što ga podiže kralj Nabukodonozor!
DanishNår I hører Horn, Fløjter, Citre, Harper, Hakkebrætter, Sækkepiber og alle Hånde andre Instrumenter klinge, skal I falde ned og tilbede Guldbilledstøtten, som Kong Nebukadnezar har ladet opstille.
DutchTen tijde als gij horen zult het geluid des hoorns, der pijp, der citer, der vedel, der psalteren, des akkoordgezangs, en allerlei soorten van muziek, zo zult gijlieden nedervallen, en aanbidden het gouden beeld, hetwelk de koning Nebukadnezar heeft opgericht;
Finnishheti kun te kuulette torvien, huilujen, kitarain, harppujen, psalttarien, säkkipillien ja kaikkinaisten muiden soittimien äänen, langetkaa maahan ja kumartaen rukoilkaa kultaista kuvapatsasta, jonka kuningas Nebukadnessar on pystyttänyt.
GermanWenn ihr hören werdet den Schall der Posaunen, Drommeten, Harfen, Geigen, Psalter, Lauten und allerlei Saitenspiel, so sollt ihr niederfallen und das goldene Bild anbeten, das der König Nebukadnezar hat setzen lassen.
Indonesian-Bahasa Sehari-hariJika trompet berbunyi, diikuti bunyi seruling, kecapi, rebab, gambus, serdam, dan alat-alat musik lainnya, saudara-saudara harus sujud menyembah patung emas yang telah didirikan oleh Raja Nebukadnezar.
Indonesian-Terjemahan LamaApabila kamu mendengar bunyi nafiri dan bangsi, kecapi, harbab, serdam, nobat dan segala jenis bunyi-bunyian, hendaklah kamu menyembah sujud kepada patung keemasan, yang telah didirikan oleh baginda raja Nebukadnezar itu.
MaoriA te wa e rongo ai koutou i te tangi o te koronete, o te putorino, o te hapa, o te hakaputa, o te hatere, o te taratimere, o nga mea tangi katoa, me takoto koutou, me koropiko ki te whakapakoko koura kua whakaturia nei e Kingi Nepukaneha.
NorwegianSå snart I hører lyden av horn, fløite, citar, harpe, lutt og sekkepipe og alle andre slags strengelek, skal I falle ned og tilbede det gullbillede kong Nebukadnesar har stilt op.
PortugueseLogo que ouvirdes o som da trombeta, da flauta, da harpa, da cítara, do saltério, da gaita de foles, e de toda a sorte de música, prostrar-vos-eis, e adorareis a imagem de ouro que o rei Nabucodonozor tem levantado.   
RumanianKn clipa cknd veyi auzi sunetul trkmbiyei, cavalului, chitarei, alqutei, psaltirii, cimpoiului, wi a tot felul de instrumente de muzicq, sq vq aruncayi cu faya la pqmknt, wi sq vq knchinayi chipului de aur, pe care l -a knqlyat kmpqratul Nebucadneyar.
RussianЧ ФП ЧТЕНС, ЛБЛ ХУМЩЫЙФЕ ЪЧХЛ ФТХ'Щ, УЧЙТЕМЙ, "ЙФТЩ, "ЕЧОЙ"Щ, ЗХУМЕК Й УЙНЖПОЙЙ Й ЧУСЛЙИ НХЪЩЛБМШОЩИ ПТХ"ЙК, Б"ЙФЕ Й ПЛМПОЙФЕУШ ЪПМПФПНХ ЙУФХЛБОХ, ЛПФПТПЗП ПУФБЧЙМ "БТШ оБЧХИП"ПОПУПТ.
Spanishque al oír el sonido de la corneta, de la flauta, de la cítara, de la lira, del arpa, de la zampoña y de todo instrumento de música, os postréis y rindáis homenaje a la estatua de oro que ha levantado el rey Nabucodonosor.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Derivations & Misspellings: Dulcimer

Derivations

Words beginning with "dulcimer": dulcimers. (additional references)


Misspellings

"Dulcimer" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: Deblicker, Dulcamara, Dulci, dulciter, dulicmer. (additional references)

Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references).

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Rhyming with "Dulcimer"

# of Phoneme MatchesPronunciationWord(s) rhyming with "dulcimer" (pronounced du"lsumer)
4-s u m ergossamer, isomer.
3-u m erastronomer, customer, elastomer, latecomer, Lorimer, monomer, polymer.

Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

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Anagrams: Dulcimer

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

Words within the letters "c-d-e-i-l-m-r-u"

-2 letters: cerium, clerid, culmed, curdle, curled, dermic, milder, uremic.

-3 letters: cider, clime, clued, cried, crime, crude, cruel, cured, curie, demur, dicer, dimer, idler, ileum, lemur, limed, lucid, lucre, ludic, lured, lurid, medic, melic, miler, mired, mucid, muled, mured, murid, relic, riced, riled, rimed, ruled, ulcer, ureic.

-4 letters: cedi, ceil, cire, clue, crud, cued, culm.

 Words containing the letters "c-d-e-i-l-m-r-u"
 

+1 letter: dulcimers, dulcimore.

 

+2 letters: dulcimores.

 

+3 letters: demiurgical, unreclaimed.

 

+4 letters: diverticulum, matriculated, multicolored, multitracked, vermiculated.

 

+5 letters: documentarily, multibranched.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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INDEX

1. Definition
2. Crosswords
3. Usage: Commercial
4. Images: Slideshow
5. Images: Photo Album
6. Sounds
7. Quotations: Familiar
8. Usage Frequency
9. Expressions
10. Expressions: Internet
11. Translations: Modern
12. Translations: Ancient
13. Bible Trace
14. Derivations
15. Rhymes
16. Anagrams
17. Bibliography


  

Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.