A xylophone is a musical instrument made of a row of wooden bars of different lengths that you hit with small mallets to make sounds. Each bar makes a different note.
“Xylophone” comes from Greek “xylon,” meaning “wood,” and “phōnē,” meaning “sound” or “voice.” It literally means “wood sound.”
The “x” in “xylophone” sounds like “z,” which surprises many learners. Once you know it means “wood sound,” the instrument’s design—wooden bars singing when struck—suddenly makes perfect sense.
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