Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun The largest bowed stringed instrument in the modern orchestra, also used frequently in jazz ensembles, especially played pizzicato. The double bass, usually considered a member of the violin family, is tuned in fourths and has the sloping shoulders and flat back characteristic of the viols. It has a deep range, going as low as three octaves below middle C.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A musical instrument, the largest and deepest of the viol family, having 3 or 4 strings, with a compass of over 3 octaves from the third E below middle C.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun music The largest
stringed instrument of theviolin family. - noun The
deepest of all male voices.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective pitched an octave below normal bass instrumental or vocal range
- noun largest and lowest member of the violin family
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
[double, tuned an octave lower than (from the fact that a string or pipe that is twice the length of another gives a pitch an octave lower) + bass.]
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Examples
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stevegingercat commented on the word double bass
Hi I'm new - how would one add string bass to the list of
synonyms for the double bass page?
July 31, 2023
erinmckean commented on the word double bass
I've added it! (It will take a few days to show up because of our caching.) Thank you!
July 31, 2023