banjo
n. countablen. a musical instrument with a round body, a long neck, and four or five strings that you pluck. It has a bright, sharp sound and is common in folk and country music.
n. a stringed musical instrument with a circular body covered by a parchment or plastic membrane, featuring a long fretted neck and typically four or five strings.
He plays the banjo in a local folk band.
The fast, rhythmic plucking of the banjo gave the bluegrass performance its characteristic high-energy sound.
While the instrument is central to American old-time music, the banjo actually has its roots in West African lutes brought to the Americas by enslaved people in the seventeenth century.
From the pronunciation of African slaves, of unknown ultimate origin. Possibly a corruption of bandore (from Spanish bandurria), alternatively from a West African language such as Mandinka banjul, or Kimbundu mbanza.
Often used with the definite article when referring to the instrument in general ('play the banjo').