mandolin
mandolin Lexical Profile
mandolin Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A stringed musical instrument in the lute family, typically having a pear-shaped body, a fretted neck, and four pairs of strings played with a plectrum.
"The folk musician tuned his mandolin before stepping onto the stage for the acoustic set."
A kitchen utensil consisting of a flat frame with adjustable blades, used for slicing vegetables uniformly.
"The chef used a mandolin to cut the potatoes into paper-thin slices for the gratin."
Word Nuance & Usage
The spelling 'mandoline' is traditionally preferred for the kitchen slicing tool to visually distinguish it from the musical instrument, though 'mandolin' is commonly used for both in modern English.
• Rhymes for mandolin
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed from French 'mandoline', which traces back to the Italian 'mandolino', a diminutive of 'mandola' (a larger lute-like instrument).