ukulele

u·ku·le·le

U u

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
- [yoo-kuh-ley-lee; Hawaiian. oo-koo-ley-ley]
- /ˌyu kəˈleɪ li; Hawaiian. ˌu kʊˈleɪ leɪ/
- /ˌjuː.kəˈleɪ.li/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [yoo-kuh-ley-lee; Hawaiian. oo-koo-ley-ley]
- /ˌyu kəˈleɪ li; Hawaiian. ˌu kʊˈleɪ leɪ/

Definitions of ukulele word

noun ukulele a small, guitarlike musical instrument associated chiefly with Hawaiian music. 1
noun ukulele stringed instrument 1
countable noun ukulele A ukulele is a small guitar with four strings. 0
noun ukulele a small four-stringed guitar, esp of Hawaii 0
noun ukulele a small, four-stringed, guitarlike musical instrument introduced from Portugal into the Hawaiian Islands about 1879 0

See all 5 definitions of ukulele

Information block about the term

Origin of ukulele

First appearance:

before 1895

One of the 18% newest English words

1895-1900, Americanism; < Hawaiian ʿukulele leaping flea (ʿuku flea + lele to jump, leap), a nickname given to British army officer Edward Purvis (who popularized the instrument at the court of King Kalakaua), in reference to his lively playing style

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Ukulele

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of Ukulele

ukulele popularity

A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 61% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.

Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

ukulele usage trend in Literature

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