bourdon

Meaning

1. (archaic) The burden or bass of a melody.
2. The drone pipe of a bagpipe.
3. The lowest-pitched stop of an organ.
4. The lowest-pitched bell of a carillon.
5. A large, low-pitched bell not part of a diatonically tuned ring of bells.
6. A bumblebee, genus Bombus.

Synonyms

drone

drone pipe

pilgrim's staff

palmer's staff

Translations

bourdon

Pilgerstab

faux bourdon

bâton de pèlerin

bordone

bordone del pellegrino

bourdon

pelgrimsstaf

bordon

bordão

bordó

bordón

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈbʊədən/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: burdoun

Cognate with French: bourdon

In summary

Inherited from Middle English burdoun (“accompaniment”), from Old French bordon, from Medieval Latin burdō, burdōnem (“drone”). The modern pronunciation and form (for *burdon) is influenced by modern French bourdon.