Meanings
nounmonochord (plural monochords)
plural monochords
- A musical instrument for experimenting with the mathematical relations of musical sounds, consisting of a single string stretched between two bridges, one or both of which can be moved, and which stand upon a graduated rule for the purpose of changing and measuring the length of the part of the string between them.
If a musician were going to give a lecture upon the mathematical part of his art, he would find a very elegant substitute for the monochord in the Chinese kin.
1840, Elijah Coleman Bridgman, Samuel Wells Williams, The Chinese Repository, page 40 - A stringed instrument with only one string.
Synonyms & antonyms
Similar
Also see
Origin
- Ancient Greekμονόχορδον
- Latinmonochordon
- Englishmonochord
Learned borrowing from Latin monochordon, itself borrowed from Ancient Greek μονόχορδον (monókhordon). By surface analysis, mono- + chord.
More words from Latin, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Finnish monokordi
- monokordiTranslations
French monocorde
- monocordeTranslations
Irish monachorda
- monachordaTranslations
Italian monocordo
- monocordoTranslations
Polish monochord
- monochordTranslations
Russian монохо́рд
- монохо́рд (monoxórd)Translations
Cite this entry
APA
monochord. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/monochord
MLA
“monochord.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/monochord. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “monochord,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/monochord.
Source: monochord on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.