Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

hornpipe

/hˈɔɹnpaɪp/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: 1.73 in modern English

Syllables
horn-pipe
IPA
/hˈɔɹnpaɪp/
15
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A musical instrument consisting of a wooden pipe, with holes at intervals.

noun

A solo dance commonly associated with seamen, involving kicking of the legs, with the arms mostly crossed.

noun

A hard-shoe solo dance commonly performed in Irish stepdance, usually danced in 2/4 time.

noun

Music played to the hornpipe dance

verb

To dance the hornpipe.

Intransitive verb

Etymology

From Middle English hornpipe, hornpype, hornepipe, equivalent to horn + pipe; so called because the bell at the open end was sometimes made of horn.

Origin

Word Breakdown

Usage

Inflected Forms

hornpipes (plural) hornpipes (present, singular) hornpiping (participle, present) hornpiped (participle, past) hornpiped (past)

Derived Forms

hornpiper hornpipist

Synonyms

pibgorn stockhorn

Questions

How do you pronounce hornpipe?
The recorded pronunciation is /hˈɔɹnpaɪp/.
What does hornpipe mean?
A musical instrument consisting of a wooden pipe, with holes at intervals.
Where does hornpipe come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce hornpipe

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “hornpipe”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/hˈɔɹnpaɪp/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “hornpipe”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “hornpipe” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.