instrument
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈɪnstɹəmənt/
ipa: /ˈɪnstɹʊmənt/
Forms: form: instruments
Etymology: From Middle English instrument, from Old French instrument, from Latin īnstrūmentum (“an implement, tool”),
From īnstruō (“build, construct; arrange”) + -mentum.
Senses: examples: text: The violinist was a master of her instrument.
text: The Harpe. […] A harper with his wreſt maye tune the harpe wrong / Mys tunying of an Inſtrument ſhal hurt a true ſonge
ref: 1568, William Cornishe [i.e., William Cornysh], “In the Fleete Made by Me William Cornishe otherwise Called Nyshwhete Chapelman with the Most Famose and Noble Kyng Henry the VII. His Reygne the XIX. Yere the Moneth of July. A Treatise betwene Trouth, and Information.”, in John Skelton, edited by J[ohn] S[tow], Pithy Pleasaunt and Profitable Workes of Maister Skelton, Poete Laureate, Imprinted at London: In Fletestreate, neare vnto St Dunstan-in-the-West by Thomas Marshe, →OCLC; republished as Pithy Pleasaunt and Profitable Workes of Maister Skelton, Poete Laureate to King Henry the VIIIth, London: Printed for C. Davis in Pater-noster Row, 1736, →OCLC, page 290:
text: MOHAMMAD REZA SHAJARIAN (Thursday) Renowned in his native Iran, the vocalist Mohammad Reza Shajarian has been performing since the 1960s, and is now widely considered one of the finest classical Persian singers in the world. Mr. Shajarian’s son, Homayoun Shajarian, will provide additional vocals and tombak (goblet drum), while Ensemble Ava, a four-piece, will contribute additional instrumentation on the ancient Persian instruments barbat (short-necked lute), tar (long-necked lute), kamancheh (spike fiddle) and daf (frame drum).
ref: 2008 May 30, The New York Times, “Pop and Rock Listings”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 09 Apr 2022:
glosses: A device used to produce music.
examples: text: “There the cause of death was soon ascertained ; the victim of this daring outrage had been stabbed to death from ear to ear with a long, sharp instrument, in shape like an antique stiletto, which […] was subsequently found under the cushions of the hansom. […]”
ref: 1904–1905, Baroness Orczy [i.e., Emma Orczy], “The Tremarn Case”, in The Case of Miss Elliott, London: T[homas] Fisher Unwin, published 1905, →OCLC; republished as popular edition, London: Greening & Co., 1909, OCLC 11192831, quoted in The Case of Miss Elliott (ebook no. 2000141h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg of Australia, February 2020:
text: On the rocky island of Tungyin, 50 miles off the coast of Red China, is the headquarters of a little-known military unit called the Anti-Communist Salvation Army. The secret army, 30,000 strong, is Chiang Kai-shek's instrument for the long-promised return to the mainland.
ref: 1963 January 11, “The World”, in Time, volume LXXXI, number 2, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 32, column 3:
glosses: A means or agency for achieving an effect.
examples: text: The instrument detected an increase in radioactivity.
glosses: A measuring or displaying device.
examples: text: The dentist set down his tray of instruments.
text: The scientist recorded the temperature with a thermometer, but wished he had a more accurate instrument.
glosses: A tool, implement used for manipulation or measurement.
examples: text: Flight within clouds must be made by reference to your instruments.
topics: aeronautics
aerospace
aviation
business
engineering
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
glosses: A tool, implement used for manipulation or measurement.
Ellipsis of flight instrument.
examples: text: A bond indenture is the instrument that gives a bond its value.
text: Negotiable instruments are the foundation of the debt markets.
topics: law
glosses: A legal document, such as a contract, deed, trust, mortgage, power, indenture, or will.
examples: text: Or useful serving man and instrument, / To any sovereign state.
ref: c. 1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life and Death of King Iohn”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene ii]:
text: The bold are but the instruments o' the wise.
ref: 1670, John Dryden, The Conquest of Granada:
glosses: A person used as a mere tool for achieving a goal.
Synonyms: word: implement
word: instrument
word: machine
word: tool
word: utensil
Hypernyms: word: device
word: artifact
Hyponyms: word: musical instrument
word: axe
word: hammer
word: pincers
word: pliers
word: saw
word: screwdriver
word: wrench
Derived terms: absolute instrument
bioinstrument
block instrument
blunt instrument
brass instrument
B♭ instrument
cash instrument
chosen instrument
C instrument
debt instrument
derivative instrument
E♭ instrument
financial instrument
F instrument
flight instrument
hyperinstrument
instrument approach
instrumentary
instrumentation
instrument flight rules
instrument flying
instrument guidance system
instrumentist
instrumentive
instrument landing system
instrumentlike
instrumently
instrument maker
instrument meteorological conditions
instrument panel
keyboard instrument
legal instrument
Maisonneuve's instrument
measuring instrument
microinstrument
monetary instrument
musical instrument
negotiable instrument
on instruments
percussion instrument
reed instrument
reinstrument
Sabouraud-Noiré instrument
statutory instrument
stringed instrument
string instrument
time-delay measuring instrument
transit instrument
universal instrument
wind instrument
woodwind instrument
writing instrument
Related terms: word: instrumental
word: :Category:Tools