Bourdon

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈbÊŠÉ™dÉ™n/

Origin

Borrowing from fr {{2}} bourdon.

Full definition of bourdon

Noun

1. (music, archaic) The burden or bass of a melody.
• 1985, Anthony Burgess, Kingdom of the Wicked:The earth tremors resumed and made a bourdon to the loud psalms that they sang, interspersed with the odd ode of Horace recited by Silas.
2. The drone pipe of a bagpipe.
3. The lowest-pitched stop of an organ.
• 1890, Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Vintage 2007, p. 5:The dim roar of London was like the bourdon note of a distant organ.
4. The lowest-pitched bell of a carillon.
5. A large, low-pitched bell not part of a diatonically tuned ring of bells.
6. A bumblebee, genus Bombus.
7. A pilgrim's staff.

Anagrams

• obround