bass fiddle
1
4.7
- noun
- /bæs ˈfɪdəl/
- Specialized
- I gave him an acoustic bass fiddle for Christmas when he was 10 years old, and he has been playing it ever since!
- play the bass fiddle
Examples
-
There were microphones sprouted in front of guitars, drums, a bass fiddle, and wires looped around the floor like long gray ropes dropped by careless cowboys.
Fiction book (1996) -
Back in the good old days, I played bass fiddle in a five-member band.
-
My husband plays the bass fiddle at the Stork Club.
-
Lum York still wears his baggy pants and plays bass fiddle.
Fiction book (1990) -
♫ when I'm listenin' to that big bass fiddle ♫
-
Not long ago, I had the privilege of hearing jazz legend Milt Hinton perform on his bass fiddle and reflect on his eighty-four years.
Academic text (1995) -
The other morning, me and the Cowboys were on the road, and I was watching Lum York; he's the short fellow over here who plays the bass fiddle. I was watching Lum eat his breakfast.
Fiction book (1990) -
My husband plays the bass fiddle at the Stork Club.
-
Not long ago, I had the privilege of hearing jazz legend Milt Hinton perform on his bass fiddle.
Synonyms
141
4.1
An instrument with a low sound that plays the lowest part in a band
3
3.6
A large string instrument with four strings that makes very low sounds when played with a bow or plucked
1
3.7
A very large low instrument with a deep sound used in orchestras and jazz bands
1
9.1
A very large string instrument like a big violin that makes low sounds
1
8.1
The largest instrument in the violin family with very low notes used in orchestras
How Low
Surface Forms
Morphology
Both constituents contribute directly: 'bass' denotes the lowest-pitched instrument and 'fiddle' denotes a violin-like bowed instrument, so together they describe a low-pitched fiddle (the double bass). This straightforward compositional noun–noun combination follows normal English compounding and is likely inferable by a B1 learner who knows the two words.
Etymology
Bass fiddle comes from the word bass, meaning 'low', and fiddle, an old word for the violin. So it names the large, violin-like instrument that makes a very 'low' sound.