bourdon

/ˈbʊədən/

bourdon means A surname from French.

bourdon is pronounced /ˈbʊədən/.

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English burdoun (“accompaniment”), from Old French bordon, from Medieval Latin burdō, burdōnem (“drone”). The modern pronunciation and form (for *burdon) is influenced by modern French bourdon.

name

A surname from French.

noun

A flute stop on an organ of 8', 16' or 32', generally characterized by a low, dark tone.
The burden or bass of a melody.e.g.“The earth tremors resumed and made a bourdon to the loud psalms that they sang, interspersed with the odd ode of Horace recited by Silas.” — 1985, Anthony Burgess, Kingdom of the Wicked:
The drone pipe of a bagpipe.
The lowest-pitched stop of an organ.e.g.“The dim roar of London was like the bourdon note of a distant organ.” — 1890, Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Vintage, published 2007, page 5:
The lowest-pitched bell of a carillon.
A large, low-pitched bell not part of a diatonically tuned ring of bells.
A bumblebee, genus Bombus.
a pilgrim's staff.e.g.“The left hand was gone, this held the bourdon or pilgrim's staff, a small portion only of which appeared over the scrip.” — 1883 October, M.H. Bloxam, “On The Sepulchral Effigy of a Pilgrim in St. Mary's Church, Haverfordwest, South Wales”, in Archaeologia Cambrensis, volume 14, number 56, page 258:

Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).

Words closest in meaning

By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.

bombarde 74% match — A powerful, brassy reed stop on an organ of 8', 16' or 32'. vs bourdon →
baryton 74% match — A viol-like stringed instrument (chordophone) mainly played with a bow but with a set of plucked strings as well, originating in European music prior to the 1800s. vs bourdon →
clarabella 61% match — A wooden organ stop that emulates the sound of a flute. vs bourdon →
doublette 59% match — A kind of organ stop. vs bourdon →
salicet 59% match — A pipe organ stop of 4-foot or 2-foot pitch. vs bourdon →
cromorna 59% match — A type of organ reed stop, sounding a tone resembling that of the oboe. vs bourdon →
bourdonnée 58% match — Having the ends terminating in rounded knobs like those on a pilgrim's staff; pommetty. vs bourdon →
bombardon 58% match — A brass instrument, the bass version of the tuba. vs bourdon →