A small, hexagonal musical instrument with a keyboard and buttons on each end that produces sound through vibrating reeds when the bellows are compressed.
Coined in 1829, likely a portmanteau of 'concerto' (since it was meant to play concert music) and '-ina' (a diminutive suffix), or possibly from 'concertante' (a musical term). The name suggests a small concert instrument.
The concertina was invented in the 1820s specifically to bring concert-quality music to ordinary people—it's like the Victorian era's version of the synthesizer, a democratic instrument that anyone could learn. Charles Dickens even mentioned it in his novels!
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