Bagpipe BAG'PIPE, N.[bag and pipe.] A musical wind instrument,
used chiefly in Scotland and Ireland. It consists of a leathern bag,
which receives the air by a tube, which is stopped by a valve; and pipes,
into which the air is pressed by the performer. The base-pipe is called
the drone, and the tenor or treble is called the chanter. The pipes
have eight holes like those of a flute, which the performer stops and
opens at pleasure. There are several species of bag-pipes, as the soft
and melodious Irish bag-pipe, with two short drones and a long one; the
Highland bag-pipe, with two short drones, the music of which is very
loud; the Scot's Lowland bag-pipe, which is played with a bellows and
is also a loud instrument. There is also a small pipe, with a chanter
about eight inches in length. In seamanship, to bag-pipe the mizen,
is to lay it aback by bringing the sheet to the mizen shrouds.
bagpipe nounDate: 14th century a wind instrument consisting of a reed melody
pipe and from one to five drones with air supplied continuously either by
a bag with valve-stopped mouth tube or by bellows — often used in plural
• bagpipernoun
bagpipe n. (usu. in pl.) a musical instrument consisting of a windbag connected to two kinds of reeded pipes: drone pipes which produce single sustained notes and a fingered melody pipe or
'chanter'. Derivatives: bagpiper n.
bagpipe
n. (usu. in pl.) a musical instrument consisting of a windbag connected to
two kinds of reeded pipes: drone pipes which produce single sustained notes
and a fingered melody pipe or 'chanter'. øøbagpiper n.
Bagpipe \Bag"pipe\, n.
A musical wind instrument, now used chiefly in the Highlands
of Scotland.
Note: It consists of a leather bag, which receives the air by
a tube that is stopped by a valve; and three sounding
pipes, into which the air is pressed by the performer.
Two of these pipes produce fixed tones, namely, the
bass, or key tone, and its fifth, and form together
what is called the drone; the third, or chanter, gives
the melody.
Bagpipe \Bag"pipe\, v. t.
To make to look like a bagpipe.
To bagpipe the mizzen (Naut.), to lay it aback by bringing
the sheet to the mizzen rigging. --Totten.
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