Vibrophone

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A percussion instrument consisting of metal bars suspended over resonator tubes with rotating vanes that create a tremolo effect when struck with mallets
2. A keyboard percussion instrument with metal bars above motor-driven resonators that produce a wavering sound when struck
3. An electrically-amplified struck instrument featuring metal plates suspended over vibrating resonance tubes to generate tremolo tones

Etymology: The vibraphone is a compound built from "vibro-", a combining form of the Latin "vibrare" meaning to vibrate or shake, and the Greek-derived "-phone", meaning sound or voice. Put together, the name describes an instrument whose sound comes from vibration, which is exactly how its metal bars work: each bar is struck with a mallet and sustains a tone that a motor-driven fan or damper can make tremble or cut off. The name is a plainly built technical coinage rather than an old word, and its pieces follow the same pattern as "telephone" and "xylophone," where "-phone" marks an instrument or device that produces sound. The "-phone" element is the same one that closes "saxophone," which was itself named after its inventor. Because "vibro-" is a combining form that can be attached to many roots, the word tells you its function directly, with no older meaning to unwind.