balalaika

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bal·a·lai·ka

(băl′ə-lī′kə)

A Russian musical instrument with a triangular body and three strings that produces sounds similar to those of a mandolin.

[Russian balalaĭka, alteration of earlier balabaĭka : bala-, onomatopoeia imitative of prattling talk (as in balagurit', to joke, jest (the balalaika traditionally being played to accompany singers of tales)) + baĭka, fantastic tale, anecdote (from bayat', to say speak, from Old Russian bayati; see bhā- in Indo-European roots).]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

balalaika

(ˌbæləˈlaɪkə)

(Instruments) a plucked musical instrument, usually having a triangular body and three strings: used chiefly for Russian folk music

[C18: from Russian]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

bal•a•lai•ka

(ˌbæl əˈlaɪ kə)

n., pl. -kas.

a Russian stringed instrument with a triangular body and a guitarlike neck.

[1780–90; < Russian]

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Noun

balalaika - a stringed instrument that has a triangular body and three strings

chordophone - a stringed instrument of the group including harps, lutes, lyres, and zithers

Translations

balalajka

Balalaika

balalaikka

balalaïka

balalajka

balalaika

balalaika

バラライカ

balalaika

bałałajka

balalaika

балалайкаbalalaica

balalajka

balalaika

[ˌbæləˈlaɪkə] N → balalaica f

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

balalaika

n → Balalaika f

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

Mentioned in ?

References in classic literature ?

All of a sudden there was a great uproar of shouting, singing and the balalaika, and from the tavern a number of big and very drunken peasants came out, wearing red and blue shirts and coats thrown over their shoulders.

View in context

Russian tradition is such wonderful things as making tea in a samovar, playing a balalaika, drinking vodka and singing old songs, eating borscht soup with sour cream, visiting a sauna, going to your dacha.

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Trying to comfort him on the night of his mother's funeral, they fail, and Yuri finds comfort instead in the phantom music he imagines wafting from his mother's balalaika, as he stares intently at the red, triangular body of the instrument.

Love in the Time of Revolution: THE POLITICAL AND THE PERSONAL IN DOCTOR ZHIVAGO

What shape is the body of the Russian stringed musical instrument the balalaika? 7.

Time out extra

The names of these fantastic musicians are: Ivan Kuznetsov who plays balalaika, Anastasia Zakharova who plays domra/domra alto, Alexander Tarasov who plays button accordion, and Ivan Vinogradov who plays balalaika contrabass.

From Russia with love -- "Russian Renaissance" shines at Wheaton College

It set out his stall for a programme that balanced perky, upbeat pieces including Tiritomba, Blaze Away, and a singalong Volare, with big anthems like You Raise Me Up, plaintive Russian melodies (it's not often you see a balalaika on the arena stage), and a trademark crescendo featuring Strauss's Blue Danube which saw the arena floor become a Strictly sea of waltzing.

REVIEW: MUSIC Andre Rieu ECHO Arena

Many have encountered the three-stringed, triangular-bodied balalaika. Worldly musicians might be able to tell you the difference between a piano accordion and its chromatic-buttoned cousin, the Russian bayan.

How the Center of a Russian-Guitar Culture Ended Up in the American Midwest

Mas quando, mais tarde, nas noites frias do curto Inverno macaense ou nas quentes e humidas do longo periodo estival, Igor agarrava na balalaika que salvara e cantara cancoes russas no seu quente baritono, ainda envolvente, os outros refugiados juntavam-se-lhe, faziam coro espontaneamente e recreavam por uns breves momentos, naquela little Russia de gheto, uma saudade da Patria tao distante, tao presente, tao viva, tao perdida [...] (CARVALHO, 2015, p.

TRAVESSIAS IDENTITARIAS: REPRESENTACOES DOS REFUGIADOS EM MACAU NA OBRA DE RODRIGO LEAL DE CARVALHO/CROSSING IDENTITIES: REPRESENTATIONS OF REFUGEES IN MACAU IN RODRIGO LEAL DE CARVALHO'S WORKS

And now Trump breaks bread with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, a sit-down that European leaders have worried would allow Putin to play Trump like a balalaika. But if Europe wants to size up its biggest threat, it only needs to glance in the mirror.

Beyond NATO, Brexit And Putin: Europe's Poland Problem

City Centre Bahrain is hosting for the very first time colourful performances by traditional Russian dancers as well as accordion and balalaika musician performers, at the mall's Central Galleria, every day until Friday at 4pm, 5pm, 7pm and 8pm.

Let's dance to a World Cup bonanza!

Well-loved bass player Richard Bona and his band (US); musician Aleksey Arkhipovskiy, who plays balalaika in a such a manner that it can imitate any instrument; kemenche player Mark Eliyahu (Israel) who is in the World Music Chart on SoundCloud; New York saxophonist Donny McCaslin (US) who worked on Blackstar, the final studio album by David Bowie; one of the most famous Russian jazzmen in the world Igor Butman and his quintet; the most promising jazzman Jacob Collier (UK) who became famous thanks to his YouTube videos, once noticed by the legendary Quincy Jones, and who has won two Grammys, will perform on Sberbank First Aristocrat stage.