theorbo

theorbo
theorbist, n.
/thee awr"boh/, n., pl. theorbos.
an obsolete bass lute with two sets of strings attached to separate peg boxes, one above the other, on the neck.
[1595-1605; < It teorba, var. of tiorba, special use of Venetian tiorba, var. of tuorba traveling bag Turk torba bag; so called from the bag it was carried in]

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      large bass lute, or archlute, used from the 16th to the 18th century for song accompaniments and for basso continuo parts. It had six to eight single strings running along the fingerboard and, alongside them, eight off-the-fingerboard bass strings, or diapasons. Both sets of strings had separate pegboxes connected by an S curve in the instrument's neck. On 18th-century theorbos all but the two top courses of strings were double.

      A similar, smaller instrument, the theorbo-lute, or French lute, was a modification of the regular double-strung lute, to which were added one to three off-the-fingerboard courses of bass strings. There were two pegboxes, one angled backward. Smaller and more agile than the theorbo, the theorbo-lute was the favourite of the 17th-century school of French lutenists; through them, it influenced the style of French harpsichord music.

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  • Theorbo — The*or bo, n. [F. th[ e]orbe, t[ e]orbe, formerly tuorbe, tiorbe, It. tiorba.] (Mus.) An instrument made like large lute, but having two necks, with two sets of pegs, the lower set holding the strings governed by frets, while to the upper set… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • theorbo — [thē ôr′bō] n. pl. theorbos [Fr théorbe < It tiorba < ?] a large 17th cent. lute with a double neck and two sets of strings …   English World dictionary

  • theorbo — Theorbe нем. [тэо/рбэ] théorbe фр. [тэо/рб] theorbo англ. [ти/обоу] теорба (басовый струнный инструм. из семейства лютен) …   Словарь иностранных музыкальных терминов

  • theorbo — noun (plural bos) Etymology: modification of Italian tiorba, teorba Date: 1605 a stringed instrument of the 17th century resembling a large lute but having an extra set of long bass strings …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • theorbo — noun /θi.ˈɔɹ.bo/ A baroque lute having an extra set of open bass strings …   Wiktionary

  • theorbo — [θɪ ɔ:bəʊ] noun (plural theorbos) a large lute with the neck extended to carry several long bass strings, used in the 17th and early 18th centuries. Origin C17: from Ital. tiorba, of unknown origin …   English new terms dictionary

  • theorbo — the·or·bo …   English syllables

  • theorbo — /θiˈɔboʊ/ (say thee awboh) noun (plural theorbos) a medieval musical instrument of the lute class, having two necks, one above the other; archlute. {Italian tiorba} –theorbist, noun …  

  • theorbo —   n. 17th century double necked lute …   Dictionary of difficult words

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