xylophone

xylophone
    n 1: a percussion instrument with wooden bars tuned to produce a
         chromatic scale and with resonators; played with small
         mallets [syn: {marimba}, {xylophone}]
    

Xylophone \Xy"lo*phone\, n. [Xylo- + Gr. fwnh` sound.]
   [1913 Webster]
   1. (Mus.) Originally, an instrument common among the
      Russians, Poles, and Tartars, consisting of a series of
      strips of wood or glass graduated in length to the musical
      scale, resting on belts of straw, and struck with two
      small hammers; now any similar musical instrument composed
      of a series of bars of graduated length. Called in Germany
      {strohfiedel}, or {straw fiddle}.
      [1913 Webster +PJC]

   2. An instrument to determine the vibrative properties of
      different kinds of wood. --Knight.
      [1913 Webster]
    

36 Moby Thesaurus words for "xylophone":
      battery, bells, bones, castanets, celesta, chime, chimes, clappers,
      crash cymbal, cymbals, finger cymbals, gamelan, glockenspiel, gong,
      handbells, idiophone, lyra, maraca, marimba, metallophone,
      orchestral bells, percussion, percussion instrument, percussions,
      percussive, rattle, rattlebones, sizzler, snappers, tam-tam,
      tintinnabula, tonitruone, triangle, tubular bells, vibes,
      vibraphone