banjo: [18] The origins of banjo are uncertain, but its likeliest source seems to be bandore, the name of a 16th-century stringed instrument similar to the lute. It has been argued that in the speech of Southern US blacks, amongst whom the banjo originated, bandore became banjo, perhaps under the influence of mbanza, a term for a similar instrument in the Kimbundu language of Northern Angola (although it might be more plausible to suggest that mbanza is the immediate source, altered by English-speakers more familiar with bandore). Bandore itself appears to be a variant of pandore or pandora, which comes from Greek pandoura ‘three-stringed lute’.
A more farreaching modification produced mandore, likewise a term for a lutelike instrument. The Italian version of the word, mandola, is familiar in English from its diminutive form, which has given us mandolin [18]. => mandolin
1764, American English, usually described as of African origin, probably akin to Bantu mbanza, an instrument resembling a banjo. The word has been influenced by colloquial pronunciation of bandore (1560s in English), a 16c. stringed instrument like a lute and an ancestor (musically and linguistically) of mandolin; from Portuguese bandurra, from Latin pandura, from Greek pandoura "three-stringed instrument." The origin and influence might be the reverse of what is here described.
双语例句
1. Before he began to play, Harry tuned up his banjo.
开始演奏前, 哈利先行调好他的班卓琴.
来自《简明英汉词典》
2. He could hear the thrum of a banjo.
窗外传来吉他的漫弹声.
来自《简明英汉词典》
3. The crowd cheered as Premier Wayne Goss unveiled a lifesize statue of poet Banjo Paterson.
韦恩·戈斯州长揭开诗人巴尼奥·佩特森的等身塑像时，人群欢呼起来。
来自柯林斯例句
4. With a few pluck at the string of his banjo, everybodyis singing along.
他拨了拨班卓琴的琴弦, 每个人就都跟著唱了起了.
来自《简明英汉词典》
5. With a few plucks at the strings of his banjo, everybody was singing along.
