Strohfiedel

1 definition found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Xylophone \Xy"lo*phone\, n. [Xylo- + Gr. fwnh` sound.]
     [1913 Webster]
     1. (Mus.) Originally, an instrument common among the
        Russians, Poles, and Tartars, consisting of a series of
        strips of wood or glass graduated in length to the musical
        scale, resting on belts of straw, and struck with two


        small hammers; now any similar musical instrument composed
        of a series of bars of graduated length. Called in Germany
        {strohfiedel}, or {straw fiddle}.
        [1913 Webster +PJC]
  
     2. An instrument to determine the vibrative properties of
        different kinds of wood. --Knight.
        [1913 Webster]