Melodeon

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /mɪˈləʊdɪən/

Definitions

1. A type of musical instrument similar to an accordion, producing sound through free reeds
2. This instrument is characterized by its keyboard and bellows mechanism for sound generation
3. Often regarded as a smaller version of a harmonium, it combines keyboard play with reed-based sound production

Etymology: The melodeon is a word that started life as the name of a different instrument entirely. The "melodeon" first named a reed organ, a keyboard instrument that pumped air over free reeds much as the accordion-family instruments do, and only later was the name transferred to the squeezeboxes now played in folk music. The word was formed from the Greek "melos", meaning tune or song, combined with "odeon", a word tied to singing and performance, so the name promised a melodious instrument. The direct source is the French "mélodium", a name for a similar reed organ, and English took that word and altered its ending to make it sound like a native English form. The reed organ was the instrument that had the name first, and the accordion-style melodeon inherited it. Because two different instruments have carried the name, it can refer to either one depending on the context and region in which it is used.

Synonyms: accordion, organ, harmonium