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January 3, 2011
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| Word of the
Week--"xylophone"
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Definition--a musical percussion
instrument consisting of a series of
wooden bars of different lengths to sound a chromatic scale, played by
being struck with two small wooden mallets.
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Discussion--Many children play the
xylophone, often a metal
version, as their first
instrument. It's fun to hit and more pleasant sounding than hitting the
furniture, a window, or a younger sibling. Sadly, few return to this
pleasant-sounding instrument later in life. Some will play the
glockenspiel in marching band. A glockenspiel is similar to a xylophone,
but has two small rows of metal bars and can be attached to the body and
played while marching.
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| Etymology--Xylophone is
from the Greek xylon
meaning wood plus the English suffix -phone as in microphone or telephone.
The English suffix is boorowed
from the Greek phoné meaning a device
that receives or emits sound. These same Greek roots are clearly present
in the languages shown below.
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Foreign
Translations
| German: |
Xylophon (nt) |
| Dutch: |
xylofoon (de) |
| French: |
xylophone (m) |
| Italian: |
xilofono |
| Spanish: |
xilófono |
Jane Ellis
Previous Words of the Week
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