resophonic guitar

noun

res·o·phon·ic guitar ˌre-zə-ˈfä-nik-

variants or resophonic

plural resophonic guitars or resophonics

: an acoustic guitar that features a metal resonator which amplifies and modifies the tone : resonator guitar

Her [Cassandra Wilson's] soul never left Mississippi, however, and by the '90s she was carving her own niche, deploying the understated rhythms and resophonic guitars of rural blues …—

John Shand

The resophonic … is a guitar with a built-in metal resonator. It was invented in this country in the 1920's, in an attempt to get more volume from an acoustic guitar, so it wouldn't be drowned out by the horns in a dance band.—

Elzy Kolb

During … the 1920s, a number of Hawaiians played rags and blues on record, especially after wood-and metal-bodied resophonic guitars were introduced …—

Dick Spottswood

Word History

Etymology

reso(nator) + -phonic (as in stereophonic)

First Known Use

1956, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of resophonic guitar was in 1956

See more words from the same year

Cite this Entry

Style

“Resophonic guitar.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/resophonic%20guitar. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.

Copy Citation