xylophone
Other forms: xylophones
A xylophone is a long musical instrument with wooden bars that is played by hitting it with small, hammer-like mallets. The xylophone produces bright, sharp tones when stuck with these hard-headed mallets.
The xylo- part of this word comes from the Greek for wood — xylon — and clues us in to what gives this instrument its unique sound: the graduated bars representing tones of the scale. A related word in English is xylem, the tissue that forms the woody part of plants. The phone part means "a sound" in Greek. If your instrument has metal bars instead of wooden ones, it is more likely to be a glockenspiel, not a xylophone.
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a bright-toned wooden bar instrument played with hard-headed mallets
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Vocabulary lists containing xylophone
Learn these words that derive from the Greek root phone, meaning "sound." Here are links to the complete set of Common Senses lists: Hearing: Phon / Aud / Son Sight: Vid, Vis / Spec, Spect, Spic / Op, Ops, Opt Touch: Path / Sent, Sens / Tact, Tang
Listen up! We've assembled a collection of words for unusual musical instruments that will either make you want to cover your ears or pick up a dulcimer and strum along.
Words from Round 2 of the 2015 Scripps National Spelling Bee. Full list is here.