metronome

metronome
—metronomic /me'treuh nom"ik/, metronomical, adj. —metronomically, adv.
/me"treuh nohm'/, n.
a mechanical or electrical instrument that makes repeated clicking sounds at an adjustable pace, used for marking rhythm, esp. in practicing music.
[1810-20; METRO-1 + -nome < Gk nómos rule, law]

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      instrument for marking musical tempo, erroneously ascribed to the German Johann Nepomuk Maelzel (1772–1838) but actually invented by a Dutch competitor, Dietrich Nikolaus Winkel (c. 1776–1826). It consists of a pendulum swung on a pivot and actuated by a hand-wound clockwork whose escapement (a motion-controlling device) makes a ticking sound as the wheel passes a pallet. Below the pivot there is a fixed weight; above it, a sliding weight. A scale of numbers indicates how many oscillations per minute occur when the sliding weight is moved to a given point on the pendulum. Thus, the notation “M.M. (Maelzel's metronome)  = 60” indicates that at 60 oscillations per minute the half note will receive one beat. The conventional metronome is housed in a pyramidal case. Pocket and electric metronomes are also made. Metronomes have occasionally been used as musical instruments, e.g., by the Hungarian György Ligeti (Poème symphonique, 1962, for 100 metronomes).

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • métronome — [ metrɔnɔm ] n. m. • 1815; de métro et nome ♦ Petit instrument à pendule, de forme pyramidale, servant à marquer la mesure pour l exécution d un morceau de musique. Le tic tac du métronome. Mme de Cambremer « battant la mesure avec sa tête… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Metronome — Métronome Photo montrant un métronome électronique simple et un métronome mécanique à ressort. Un métronome est un instrument donnant un signal audible ou visuel permettant d indiquer un tempo, vitesse à laquelle doit être jouée une musique. Il… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Metronome — (engl. für Metronom) bezeichnet Folgendes: Metronome (Band), ein japanisches Nintendocore Projekt Metronome Records, ein schwedisches Musiklabel, Metronome (New York), eine Installation am Union Square in New York City Metronome (Zeitschrift),… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Metronome — Met ro*nome, n. [Gr. ? measure + ? distribute, assign: cf. F. m[ e]tronome, It. metronomo.] An instrument consisting of a short pendulum with a sliding weight. It is set in motion by clockwork, and serves to measure time in music. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • metronome — (n.) mechanical musical time keeper, 1815, coined in English from comb. form of Gk. metron measure (see METER (Cf. meter) (n.2)) + nomos regulating, verbal adjective of nemein to regulate (see NUMISMATICS (Cf. numismatics)). The device invented… …   Etymology dictionary

  • metronome — ► NOUN ▪ a musicians device that marks time at a selected rate by giving a regular tick. DERIVATIVES metronomic adjective. ORIGIN from Greek metron measure + nomos law …   English terms dictionary

  • metronome — [me′trə nōm΄] n. [< METRO 1 + Gr nomos, law: see NOMY] 1. a clockwork device with an inverted pendulum that beats time at a rate determined by the position of a sliding weight on the pendulum: it is used esp. to help a person maintain regular… …   English World dictionary

  • Metronome — For other uses, see Metronome (disambiguation). Mechanical metronome A metronome is any device that produces regular, metrical ticks (beats, clicks) settable in beats per minute. These ticks represent a fixed, regular aural pulse; some metronomes …   Wikipedia

  • Métronome — Photo montrant un métronome électronique simple et un métronome mécanique à ressort. Un métronome est un instrument donnant un signal audible ou visuel permettant d indiquer un tempo, vitesse à laquelle doit être jouée une musique. Il est surtout …   Wikipédia en Français

  • métronome — (mé tro no m ) s. m. Petite machine à pendule dont on se sert pour régler la mesure d un morceau de musique. Il y a des métronomes à sonnerie. Les mouvements de ce morceau sont marqués au métronome. ÉTYMOLOGIE    Termes grecs signifiant mesure et …   Dictionnaire de la Langue Française d'Émile Littré

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