Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A small musical instrument consisting of a lyre-shaped metal frame that is held between the teeth and a projecting steel tongue that is plucked to produce a soft twanging sound.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A musical instrument consisting of a flexible metal or bamboo “tongue” attached to a frame. This tongue is placed in the performer’s mouth and plucked with the finger to produce a note of constant pitch. Melodies can be created by changing the shape of the mouth and causing different overtones.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Origin unknown.]

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Examples

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