an instrument employed in acoustic analysis or investigation, consisting usually of one string stretched over a resonator of wood
Also called: sonometer (səˈnɒmɪtə)
Word origin
C15: from Old French, from Late Latin, from Greek monokhordon, from mono- + khordē string
monochord in American English
(ˈmɑnəˌkɔrd)
noun
an acoustical instrument consisting of a wooden sounding box with a single string and a movable bridge set on a graduated scale: used for determining musical intervals mathematically by dividing the string into separate parts whose vibrations can be measured
Word origin
ME monocorde < MFr < LL monochordon < Gr: see mono- & chord1