Hornpipe
noun, verb
noun, verb ·2 syllables ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A musical instrument consisting of a wooden pipe, with holes at intervals.
- 2 a British solo dance performed by sailors wordnet
- 3 A solo dance commonly associated with seamen, involving kicking of the legs, with the arms mostly crossed.
- 4 an ancient (now obsolete) single-reed woodwind; usually made of bone wordnet
- 5 A hard-shoe solo dance commonly performed in Irish stepdance, usually danced in 2/4 time.
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 music for dancing the hornpipe wordnet
- 7 Music played to the hornpipe dance
Verb
- 1 To dance the hornpipe. intransitive
Example
More examples"The jig, reel and hornpipe are the most popular Irish dances."
Etymology
From Middle English hornpipe, hornpype, hornepipe, equivalent to horn + pipe; so called because the bell at the open end was sometimes made of horn.