Found 2 items, similar to barrel organ.
English → English (WordNet)
Definition: barrel organ
barrel organ
n : a musical instrument that makes music by rotation of a
cylinder studded with pegs [syn:
grind organ,
hand organ
,
hurdy gurdy,
street organ]
English → English (gcide)
Definition: Barrel organ
Organ
\Or"gan\, n. [L. organum, Gr. ?; akin to ? work, and E.
work: cf. F. organe. See
Work, and cf.
Orgue,
Orgy.]
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1. An instrument or medium by which some important action is
performed, or an important end accomplished; as,
legislatures, courts, armies, taxgatherers, etc., are
organs of government.
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2. (Biol.) A natural part or structure in an animal or a
plant, capable of performing some special action (termed
its function), which is essential to the life or
well-being of the whole; as, the heart, lungs, etc., are
organs of animals; the root, stem, foliage, etc., are
organs of plants.
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Note: In animals the organs are generally made up of several
tissues, one of which usually predominates, and
determines the principal function of the organ. Groups
of organs constitute a system. See
System.
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3. A component part performing an essential office in the
working of any complex machine; as, the cylinder, valves,
crank, etc., are organs of the steam engine.
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4. A medium of communication between one person or body and
another; as, the secretary of state is the organ of
communication between the government and a foreign power;
a newspaper is the organ of its editor, or of a party,
sect, etc. A newsletter distributed within an organization
is often called its
house organ.
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5. [Cf. AS. organ, fr. L. organum.] (Mus.) A wind instrument
containing numerous pipes of various dimensions and kinds,
which are filled with wind from a bellows, and played upon
by means of keys similar to those of a piano, and
sometimes by foot keys or pedals; -- formerly used in the
plural, each pipe being considered an organ.
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The deep, majestic, solemn organs blow. --Pope.
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Note: Chaucer used the form orgon as a plural.
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The merry orgon . . . that in the church goon
[go].
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Barrel organ,
Choir organ,
Great organ, etc. See under
Barrel,
Choir, etc.
Cabinet organ (Mus.), an organ of small size, as for a
chapel or for domestic use; a reed organ.
Organ bird (Zo["o]l.), a Tasmanian crow shrike (
Gymnorhina organicum
). It utters discordant notes like those of a
hand organ out of tune.
Organ fish (Zo["o]l.), the drumfish.
Organ gun. (Mil.) Same as
Orgue
(b) .
Organ harmonium (Mus.), an harmonium of large capacity and
power.
Organ of Corti (Anat.), a complicated structure in the
cochlea of the ear, including the auditory hair cells, the
rods or fibers of Corti, the membrane of Corti, etc. See
Note under
Ear.
Organ pipe. See
Pipe, n., 1.
Organ-pipe coral. (Zo["o]l.) See
Tubipora.
Organ point (Mus.), a passage in which the tonic or
dominant is sustained continuously by one part, while the
other parts move.
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Barrel
\Bar"rel\ (b[a^]r"r[e^]l), n.[OE. barel, F. baril, prob.
fr. barre bar. Cf.
Barricade.]
1. A round vessel or cask, of greater length than breadth,
and bulging in the middle, made of staves bound with
hoops, and having flat ends or heads; as, a cracker
barrel. Sometimes applied to a similar cylindrical
container made of metal, usually called a
drum.
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2. The quantity which constitutes a full barrel. This varies
for different articles and also in different places for
the same article, being regulated by custom or by law. A
barrel of wine is 311/2 gallons; a barrel of flour is 196
pounds.
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3. A solid drum, or a hollow cylinder or case; as, the barrel
of a windlass; the barrel of a watch, within which the
spring is coiled.
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4. A metallic tube, as of a gun, from which a projectile is
discharged. --Knight.
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5. A jar. [Obs.] --1 Kings xvii. 12.
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6. (Zo["o]l.) The hollow basal part of a feather.
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Barrel bulk (Com.), a measure equal to five cubic feet,
used in estimating capacity, as of a vessel for freight.
Barrel drain (Arch.), a drain in the form of a cylindrical
tube.
Barrel of a boiler, the cylindrical part of a boiler,
containing the flues.
Barrel of the ear (Anat.), the tympanum, or tympanic
cavity.
Barrel organ, an instrument for producing music by the
action of a revolving cylinder.
Barrel vault. See under
Vault.
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